Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 20,098 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,098 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $123.85 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.79.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.