Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $117.39 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.09.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 85.40%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.