Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 451 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Paychex Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $2.00 on Friday, hitting $119.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,400,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,168. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.36. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.