Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,187 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,893 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC owned about 0.09% of Paychex worth $45,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,394,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.76.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Company 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.