Truist Financial Corp Sells 12,559 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,559 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Paychex worth $27,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 141,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,847,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Two Point Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,834,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in Paychex by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 21,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $120.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.41. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

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

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.