Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 2,732 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $117.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.14.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.