Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Cut by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 54.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,707 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,519 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $145.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,073,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,464. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $52.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $147.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Paychex

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.