Sfmg LLC Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Paychex by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after purchasing an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after purchasing an additional 62,739 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 102,768.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $119.65. The stock had a trading volume of 489,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,724. 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 $43.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.16.

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%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related 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 sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.