Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Investment House LLC

Investment House LLC boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.4% of Investment House LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $19,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price 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 investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $120.54. The stock had a trading volume of 567,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,477. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.39.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign 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.