Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 54.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,516 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,076 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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 stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $149.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.07. The firm has a market cap of $53.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.

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