Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $11.53 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 71.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 96,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $119.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $122.03 and a 200-day moving average of $120.18. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.