Northcape Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 46,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 70,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA lifted its stake in Paychex by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $118.81. 1,687,331 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,816,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.41. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

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.