Absher Wealth Management LLC Acquires 4,275 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,675 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,275 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 2.6% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $19,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,164,000 after acquiring an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Paychex by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,746,000 after acquiring an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.36.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $151.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,337,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,743. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $151.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.30% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.