EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $4.87 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,699 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,665 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.65. 1,120,253 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,930,983. The company has a market cap of $54.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $147.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.27. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Company 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.