Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.90 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.68. The firm has a market cap of $52.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Paychex Profile

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.