Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,999 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.55.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $153.68. 1,665,148 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,903,770. The company has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.50.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.