Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,041 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $119.52 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.03 and a 200 day moving average of $120.26. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex 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.