Cozad Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 851 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 91.5% during 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 bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $1.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.03. 579,958 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,802,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.41. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s quarterly 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 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Paychex

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.