Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 2,585 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,465 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,585 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $184,216,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Paychex by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 30,382.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $79,758,000 after acquiring an additional 566,943 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,215,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $147.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.