Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Increased by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,708 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 20.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,522 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 57,600 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $406,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 615 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $143.29 on Friday. 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 $121.33 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $151.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 94.53%.

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.

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