Griffin Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Paychex by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 15.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,419,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 581,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $81,542,000 after buying an additional 23,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $3,872,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $153.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current 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 $161.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.13 and a 200-day moving average of $147.47.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.55.

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.