Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52,413 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Paychex worth $25,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 337.3% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,539 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 229.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Paychex by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,441,000 after acquiring an additional 554,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $119.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.40. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.