LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 2.2% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 102,768.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533,137 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 337.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191,539 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 26.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after acquiring an additional 554,968 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $123.00 target price (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.77.

Paychex Trading Up 0.9 %

PAYX traded up $1.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $122.61. The company had a trading volume of 594,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,715. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.50. The company has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

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.