Lincoln National Corp Trims Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Lincoln National Corp lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 52.1% in the second quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.14% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $118.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $119.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.32. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.66 and a fifty-two week high of $141.92. The company has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.50% and a net margin of 30.45%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 9th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 8th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $131.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Paychex to $134.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 5th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 13,744 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total value of $1,584,683.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,835,800.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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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.