Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $8.48 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,465 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,585 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $184,216,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 30,382.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $79,758,000 after buying an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,215,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $145.25. 685,194 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,763. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.27 and a 200-day moving average of $144.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $52.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.