Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 76,410 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Paychex worth $64,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.6%

PAYX opened at $154.43 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS 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 firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.