Naviter Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Naviter Wealth LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during 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 during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $120.81 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.41.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.