Pathstone Holdings LLC Purchases 2,033 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,172 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $314,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 36,057 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 12,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,726 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 6,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9%

PAYX stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.22. 1,209,665 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,926,812. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. 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. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.