Naviter Wealth LLC Has $916,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Naviter Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 152,818 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $118.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Company 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.