Master S Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,117 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Master S Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,117 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $437,000. Paychex makes up 0.2% of Master S Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,055,000 after acquiring an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Paychex by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,405,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $3.10 on Monday, hitting $141.80. The company had a trading volume of 495,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,416. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. 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 $147.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.