W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co increased its stake in Paychex by 96.6% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 52,391 shares to hold 106,620 shares worth about $11.96 million.
• Paychex beat Q results, reporting $1.71 EPS vs. $1.67 expected and $1.81 billion in revenue (up 19.9% year-over-year), and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 2.5% of shares).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed to cautious—several firms cut price targets recently and MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with an average target of $106.38, while the stock trades around $94.05 (52-week range $85.45–$161.24).

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 96.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,620 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,391 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co's holdings in Paychex were worth $11,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $94.05 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.26 and a 200 day moving average of $104.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.Paychex's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.