Graypoint LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Graypoint LLC trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,457 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,599,000 after buying an additional 62,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $123.00 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.23 and a 200-day moving average of $120.09. 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 released its quarterly 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.56%.

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

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.