Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,755,940 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 130,349 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 0.49% of Paychex worth $246,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $157.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,466,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,683. 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 twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.40. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two 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 stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.