Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 345,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,153 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.10% of Paychex worth $38,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. ABC Arbitrage SA raised its position in shares of Paychex by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,494,000 after purchasing an additional 41,114 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1,938.2% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,103,000 after purchasing an additional 45,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after purchasing an additional 19,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $90.95 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $32.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.49 and a 200 day moving average of $105.85.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.