Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Security Financial Services INC.

Security Financial Services INC. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $0.05 on Monday, reaching $126.01. The company had a trading volume of 38,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,000. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.07.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 3.11%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Paychex Profile

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.