Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 122 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $119.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.03 and a 200-day moving average of $120.18. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 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 data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.