Armis Advisers LLC Invests $610,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,348 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2%

PAYX stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,993,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,914,950. The company has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $159.75. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $149.61 and its 200-day moving average is $146.59.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.