Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Paradiem LLC

Paradiem LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,435 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up approximately 2.0% of Paradiem LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $2.00 on Friday, hitting $119.97. 2,400,533 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,120,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $121.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company 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%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.