Good Life Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Good Life Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 378 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,311,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,123,000. Finally, Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,940,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.77.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $122.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.51. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.