Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,644 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,119 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.10% of Paychex worth $53,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $443,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at $256,000. apricus wealth LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $296,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,854 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 31.1% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $153.10. 1,782,059 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,899,803. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.42. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $55.14 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.55.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.