Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its stake in Paychex by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 2,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,611,000 after acquiring an additional 11,669 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex 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 transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 1.4 %

Paychex stock opened at $121.23 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.30. The company has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.