Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Cuts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.79 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.