J.Safra Asset Management Corp Sells 130 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after buying an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $121.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,504. 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 twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.01 and its 200 day moving average is $120.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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 stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.