Fmr LLC Buys 30,085 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

FMR LLC grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 780,604 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,085 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Paychex worth $109,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after buying an additional 174,817 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after purchasing an additional 519,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,299,297 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $322,407,000 after buying an additional 56,622 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.90. 2,148,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,886. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $147.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.62.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.