CWA Asset Management Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,644 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,682 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after buying an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,408,458,000 after buying an additional 519,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after buying an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 977,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,536. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.63. The company has a market capitalization of $53.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following 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 at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.36.

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.