Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 273,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,590 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $30,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $93.02 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.66. The firm has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stephens lowered their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.