Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 112.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,987 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,466 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 263,492 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $10,450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $139.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.09 and a 200-day moving average of $148.47. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.07 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

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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