Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Reduced by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 224,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,034 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 1.6% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $26,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after acquiring an additional 554,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,400,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,168. 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 company has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $121.94 and its 200-day moving average is $120.36.

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.