Fortis Group Advisors LLC Purchases 298 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 596 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6 %

PAYX stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,144,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.19 and a 200 day moving average of $122.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

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.