Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,555 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 102.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 9,417 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 81.2% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 21,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 9,712 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 23.2% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 65.3% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 164,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $121.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,504. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.35. The company has a market cap of $43.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.