Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 543,413 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,319 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 2.7% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.15% of Paychex worth $83,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $914,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 331.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.11.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $147.02. 1,539,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,958,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $152.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost 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 is currently 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex 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.