Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Paychex were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 337.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after buying an additional 1,191,539 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 229.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,655,000 after buying an additional 1,136,456 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Paychex by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after purchasing an additional 927,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,441,000 after purchasing an additional 554,968 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.14. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

About Paychex

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.