Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,876 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,294 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $10,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.21. 1,394,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,916,577. The firm's 50-day moving average is $147.56 and its 200-day moving average is $144.72. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.