BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 53,302 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 329,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,302 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned approximately 0.09% of Paychex worth $46,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Monument Capital Management grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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 value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.90 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.62. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current 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.