Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Ellevest Inc.

Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.65 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.27. The stock has a market cap of $54.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.