Ghe LLC Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ghe LLC lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 1.5% of Ghe LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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, Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

PAYX traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.52. 1,804,414 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,817,160. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.35. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Company 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.