Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 7.47% of Paychex worth $3,772,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.49. 1,024,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,909,518. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.