Alesco Advisors LLC Has $1.27 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Alesco Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 86.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 66,574 shares during the period. Alesco Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.00 on Friday, reaching $119.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,400,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,792. The company has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.36.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.