Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Bought by Lbp Am Sa

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa increased its stake in Paychex by 125.2% in Q4, adding 22,527 shares to hold 40,517 shares valued at about $4.545 million.
• Wall Street sentiment has weakened with several firms trimming price targets (e.g., Citigroup to $99, RBC to $102) and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.
• Paychex beat quarterly EPS expectations ($1.71 vs. $1.67) with revenue up 19.9% year-over-year, and its board approved a $1.0 billion share buyback program (~2.5% of outstanding shares).

Lbp Am Sa grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 125.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,517 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased 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 during the third quarter worth about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Trading Down 0.2%

Paychex stock opened at $91.96 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $92.76 and its 200-day moving average is $106.74. 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 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally 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.

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