Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,857 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in Paychex by 105.6% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 11,119 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 4,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $4.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.09. 1,333,755 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,136,468. The company has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.07 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $149.51 and its 200-day moving average is $148.62.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

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

Paychex 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.