Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Reduced by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 337.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after buying an additional 1,191,539 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,655,000 after buying an additional 1,136,456 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after buying an additional 554,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after buying an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.90 on Wednesday, hitting $122.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,804,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.