Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Director Joseph M. Velli Sells 3,650 Shares

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded down $4.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $140.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,653,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,926. The company has a market capitalization of $50.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.68. 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.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.