GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $189,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,553 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $189,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 39.8% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $119.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $121.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut 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. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective 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 assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.