Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,648 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,797,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Paychex
In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on PAYX. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.
Get Our Latest Research Report on PAYX
Paychex Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $139.43. 2,389,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,252. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $149.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.65. The company has a market cap of $50.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.07 and a 12-month high of $161.24.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.
Paychex Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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