Jacobi Capital Management LLC Purchases 448 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,229,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $122.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,586,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,664. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.99 and a 200-day moving average of $121.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,869 shares of company stock valued at $15,870,933 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Profile

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.