Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Takes $1.97 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,064 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,972,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $144.90. 2,148,167 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,909,953. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $147.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.68. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.