Cross Staff Investments Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cross Staff Investments Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $120.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,440,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,666. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.