Clarius Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 49.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of PAYX opened at $150.32 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.60. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.