Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 80.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343,269 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 152,818 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Paychex worth $40,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $269,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 35.7% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,455 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 118.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,985 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $1,019,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $237,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,004,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,792,296. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $122.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Paychex's payout ratio is 77.56%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.