Drake & Associates LLC Purchases 2,707 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Drake & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 0.5% of Drake & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 200.3% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 4,649 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,021 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $123,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,590 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 6,592 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $147.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.11.

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.

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