Coston McIsaac & Partners Purchases 1,108 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 1.6% of Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Paychex were worth $4,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $1.82 on Wednesday, reaching $120.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,484,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,760,341. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.61. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.62% and a return on equity of 46.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.