Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Lessened by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,555 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 102.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 9,417 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Paychex by 81.2% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 21,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 9,712 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Paychex by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 164,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 accessible through this link. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $121.97. 1,204,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,504. The company has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.43 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.35. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70.

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

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.