Assetmark Inc. Acquires 19,155 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 230.6%, purchasing 19,155 shares in Q4 and now owning 27,461 shares valued at about $3.08 million.
• Paychex beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.71 and revenue of $1.81 billion (up 19.9% YoY), and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase plan to buy up to 2.5% of shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative: MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38, with several brokerages cutting targets on March 26.

Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 230.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,461 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,155 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 51,697 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,799,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,942,000 after acquiring an additional 11,805 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $640,000. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in Paychex by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 24,515 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 93,106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,393 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $91.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.48. The company has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.

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