Absher Wealth Management LLC Buys 4,275 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,275 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 2.6% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $19,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 9.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 965 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 9,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.69. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Paychex

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.