Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 29,320 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $18,404,000 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. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1,086.7% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,314 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.9% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 343,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,017,000 after purchasing an additional 16,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $149.12 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $53.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $151.84 and its 200 day moving average is $147.69.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 45.30% and a net margin of 31.99%. Paychex's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS 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 represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

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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