53,200 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Purchased by TABR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• TABR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake of 53,200 shares of Paychex (≈$5.97M) in Q4, representing about 2.3% of TABR's holdings and the firm's 11th-largest position.
• Paychex's board approved a $1.00 billion buyback (up to ~2.5% of shares) and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.08 (annualized $4.32, ≈4.7% yield) with a payout ratio near 98%.
• Operationally, Paychex beat Q expectations with EPS $1.26 vs $1.23 estimate and revenue up 18.3% year-over-year, while sell-side sentiment is muted—consensus rating "Reduce" and a $121.38 target.

TABR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 53,200 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,968,000. Paychex accounts for about 2.3% of TABR Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. ABC Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20.6% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,114 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 1,938.2% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 45,781 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 38.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 978,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,983,000 after acquiring an additional 270,327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $92.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.89 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $98.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.14.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 97.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $121.38.

Paychex Company Profile

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.

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