Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 1,316 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $119.52 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.03 and its 200-day moving average is $120.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

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

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.