2,730 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,730 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in Paychex by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,166 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $617,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.36.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $149.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $151.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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