Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $117.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.14. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Paychex Company 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.