Arkadios Wealth Advisors Acquires 10,991 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 28.4%, owning a total of 49,720 shares valued at approximately $7.67 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.93%, to be paid on August 29th.
• Several institutional investors notably increased their positions in Paychex during the first quarter, with hedge funds and other institutions now owning 83.47% of the company's stock.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,720 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,991 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Paychex were worth $7,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,215,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,519,430 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,054,000 after purchasing an additional 460,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded down $4.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,235,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,156,836. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $149.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.07 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.