Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 188.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $122.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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