Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC

Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. 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 target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,400,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,168. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

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

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.