Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

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Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2,145.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,235 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,241 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Paychex were worth $10,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 118.5% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 15.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 7.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 31.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 3.5%

Paychex stock traded down $4.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.34. 4,235,395 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,015,482. The business has a fifty day moving average of $149.17 and a 200 day moving average of $148.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 3.31 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by 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.