Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Holdings Decreased by PFG Advisors

Key Points

• PFG Advisors cut its Paychex stake by 38.6% in Q4, selling 16,105 shares and now holding 25,607 shares worth $2.87 million per its SEC filing.
• Large institutions were active: Vanguard raised its position to 37.8 million shares (up 17.2%), several other funds increased stakes, and institutional investors own about 83.47% of the company.
• Paychex beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates with revenue up 19.9% year‑over‑year and the board approved a $1.0 billion buyback (≈2.5% of shares), yet sell‑side sentiment is cautious with an average rating of "Reduce" and a $106.38 target price.

PFG Advisors lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,607 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,105 shares during the period. PFG Advisors' holdings in Paychex were worth $2,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,809,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 15.9% during 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 buying an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $235,286,000 after buying an additional 511,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Paychex by 48.9% during 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 buying an additional 414,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6%

Paychex stock opened at $93.68 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors 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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