Comerica Bank Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Comerica Bank increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,497 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.