Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Cross Staff Investments Inc

Cross Staff Investments Inc trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Paychex by 218.8% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $1.89 on Friday, hitting $120.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,440,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,666. 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 has a market capitalization of $43.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.36.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.