Gray Wealth Management Inc. Has $265,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.79. 2,292,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,812,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.20 and a 200-day moving average of $120.16.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.