Pinebridge Investments L.P. Sells 38,519 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,707 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,519 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $143.21 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $147.46 and its 200 day moving average is $144.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded 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 issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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