Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 1,051 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $119.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $122.03 and its 200-day moving average is $120.26. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.