AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 27,693 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its Paychex stake by 227.8%, adding 27,693 shares to hold 39,849 shares valued at about $4.47 million at quarter-end.
• Paychex beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67) and revenue up 19.9% year-over-year, and its board authorized a $1.00 billion stock buyback (up to 2.5% of shares).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce and an average target of $106.38, with recent downgrades and a wide spread of ratings across firms.

AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 227.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,849 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,693 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $91.96 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.76 and a 200-day moving average of $106.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.9% 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 year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company's core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers' compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAYX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.