Jacobi Capital Management LLC Has $741,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $122.98. 1,586,026 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,858,664. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.70.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 133,869 shares of company stock valued at $15,870,933. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.