J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 241.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,226 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,473 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th 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. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $142.66 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.33 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.35.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% 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.

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.

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