Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 24,544 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC cut its Paychex stake by 50.2% in Q4, selling 24,544 shares and retaining 24,308 shares worth $2.727 million.
• Paychex beat quarterly expectations with $1.71 EPS versus $1.67 expected and revenue of $1.81 billion (+19.9% YoY), and its board approved a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 2.5% of shares).
• Several brokers have trimmed price targets and the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $106.38.

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,308 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,544 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $117,809,000. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Paychex by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $589,319,000 after acquiring an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $235,286,000 after acquiring an additional 511,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Paychex by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,260,376 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $155,341,000 after acquiring an additional 414,196 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $93.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.66 and a 200-day moving average of $106.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. Paychex's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.

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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