Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $15.24 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,717 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,637 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Paychex were worth $15,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,394,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,428. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $147.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.76.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Company 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.