Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Boosted by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 2.6% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $10,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Paychex by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 19,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Paychex by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 7,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,297,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,941. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.14. The company has a market cap of $42.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.09 and a 1 year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.