1,362 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Naples Money Management LLC

Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 87,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,451,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Paychex by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 19,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,900,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.52. 2,643,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,823,868. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.14.

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

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.