Naples Money Management LLC Makes New $162,000 Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after purchasing an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after acquiring an additional 62,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after acquiring an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 102,768.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533,137 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $119.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,643,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,868. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.14. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.