Simplicity Solutions LLC Lowers Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

PAYX stock opened at $121.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $122.26 and a 200-day moving average of $120.16.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.