Conning Inc. Has $36.49 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Conning Inc. trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,637 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $36,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. William Allan Corp increased its position in Paychex by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 35,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,984,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Paychex by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 838,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,625,000 after purchasing an additional 6,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $3,872,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $143.01 and its 200-day moving average is $137.89. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.