MSH Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,513 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,315,000.

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

Paychex Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $141.65. 537,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,904,759. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $147.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.68. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.