Aviance Capital Partners LLC Invests $851,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 72,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 101,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,727,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $833,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $1,265,000. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $326,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $117.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.90. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

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.