Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Paychex stake by 27.2% in Q4, selling 71,491 shares and ending the quarter with 191,572 shares worth about $21.49 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Paychex beat the latest quarter's estimates with $1.71 EPS vs. $1.67 expected and $1.81 billion in revenue (+19.9% YoY), and the board has authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program (up to ~2.5% of outstanding shares).
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $106.38 target while individual brokers range from "strong-buy" to "underweight" (Stephens and JPM lowered targets to $105 and $100); the stock opened at $92.63, trading near its 50-day SMA ($92.27) and below its 200-day SMA ($104.66), with a 52-week range of $85.45–$161.24.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,572 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 71,491 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.05% of Paychex worth $21,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 14,055 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.5% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,126 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $92.63 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $92.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.66.

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

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex 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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