Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Alesco Advisors LLC

Alesco Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 86.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 66,574 shares during the quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 39.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.97. 2,400,530 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,816,792. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $121.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.36. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93.

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

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

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.