RWA Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 188.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. boosted its position in Paychex by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 2,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Paychex by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,611,000 after purchasing an additional 11,669 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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 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 approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.35.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.