Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 2,766 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,766 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.79 on Friday. 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 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 market cap of $42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective 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 issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related 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 sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.