Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 327,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,893 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC owned 0.09% of Paychex worth $45,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

PAYX stock opened at $144.90 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $52.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.68.

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the 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 $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.