Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 16,410 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,410 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $18,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $184,216,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Paychex by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30,382.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,758,000 after buying an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $78,215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $143.21 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.46 and a 200 day moving average of $144.83. The stock has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, 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. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.