Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 12,709 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,807 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,709 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Down 0.7 %

PAYX traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,394,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,577. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $147.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.72. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. 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 one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex 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.