EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Has $381,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 57.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after buying an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after buying an additional 623,000 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Bank of America upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $127.28. 2,415,604 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.08.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,438 shares of company stock worth $18,185,292. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.