1,456 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Formidable Asset Management LLC

Formidable Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 117.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 30,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,574 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $143.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.35. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $121.33 and a one year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target 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 report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.