PFG Investments LLC Has $709,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 682 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after buying an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.84 on Monday, hitting $120.81. 1,925,934 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,818,135. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.41. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Profile

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.