Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 1,858 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,030 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.22. 2,525,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,904,733. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related 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 sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.55.

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.