Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,638 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 16,391 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after buying an additional 466,890 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $121.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.