Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 6,431 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,996 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,431 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 51,085 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,435 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,556 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 125.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 19,575 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,321,000 after buying an additional 10,904 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $140.45. The company had a trading volume of 248,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $142.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.51.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.