Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Has $3.23 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 260.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in Paychex by 254.4% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 319 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Ahrens Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 72.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.97. 3,431,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,253,819. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.97. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 31.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Paychex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, SpectralCast reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $2,433,727.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 86,136 shares in the company, valued at $10,352,685.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $2,433,727.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,136 shares in the company, valued at $10,352,685.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $5,724,417.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,208. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,916 shares of company stock worth $26,789,753 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.