Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,466 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $360,000.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.55.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PAYX
Paychex Trading Up 2.1%
Shares of PAYX traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,103. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $151.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.75. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.
Insider Transactions at Paychex
In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.
About Paychex
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Free Report)
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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