Procyon Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 85.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,210 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,691 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,408,458,000 after purchasing an additional 519,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $159.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.55.

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.

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