Gray Wealth Management Inc. Has $265,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 102,768.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 337.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191,539 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after purchasing an additional 554,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.79. 2,292,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,812,877. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $122.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target 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, Barclays dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex 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.