Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,272 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Paychex by 19.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $212,267,000 after purchasing an additional 113,856 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $202,016,000 after buying an additional 114,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $142.65. 240,899 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $139.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.