WBI Investments LLC Has $2.87 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

WBI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,494 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,419 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $155.98 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $159.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.76. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business'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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.

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