7,703 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Voleon Capital Management LP

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,080,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $147.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.89. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37. The firm has a market cap of $52.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.