Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 8.9% during 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 2.7% during 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,858,000 after purchasing an additional 246,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Paychex by 5.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,022,000 after purchasing an additional 182,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $121.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 421,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,806,713. 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 twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.