2,871 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $153.49 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.42. The stock has a market cap of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.