abrdn plc Purchases 48,444 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,444 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $16,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

Paychex stock opened at $122.52 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.35.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.