J.Safra Asset Management Corp Sells 130 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 479 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Paychex by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $121.97. 1,204,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,809,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $122.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.36. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Paychex Company Profile

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.