Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 5,531 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $19,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 927,584 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $913,599,000 after purchasing an additional 62,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533,137 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

PAYX opened at $117.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.14. 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex 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 transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.