Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Lifted by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 117.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,241,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 108,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,161,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Paychex by 129.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 118,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,619,000 after acquiring an additional 66,919 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $140.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $121.33 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

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.