AIA Group Ltd Has $2.34 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after purchasing an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after buying an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 0.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after acquiring an additional 62,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after acquiring an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,533,137 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $117.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $122.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.14. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70.

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

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

About Paychex

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.