3,115 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Purchased by Challenger Wealth Management

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,115 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $215,164,000 after acquiring an additional 672,010 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,746,000 after purchasing an additional 628,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 30,382.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $79,758,000 after buying an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $157.71. 406,338 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,915,782. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.52.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price 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 lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

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.