Conning Inc. Sells 21,637 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,200 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,637 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Conning Inc. owned about 0.07% of Paychex worth $36,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $146.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,377,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,860. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $151.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $143.09 and its 200 day moving average is $138.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Paychex Profile

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.