Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,884 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 366.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 11,766.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 249,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,751,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $123.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 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. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.09.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 77.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.