Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,988 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 102.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 9,417 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 81.2% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 21,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 9,712 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $121.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.33.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in 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 generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.