Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Has $2.15 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 826.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,451 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $159.54. 224,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,904,277. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $150.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $159.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.55.

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.