Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,730 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Paychex Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $146.23. 459,287 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,124. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.97 and a 200-day moving average of $147.87.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.11.
Check Out Our Latest Report on PAYX
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.
About Paychex
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
Before you consider Paychex, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Paychex wasn't on the list.
While Paychex currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
