Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $8.24 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $137.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 90.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.36.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.