Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Buys 372 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $143.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.46 and a 200-day moving average of $144.83. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS 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.