California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 56,189,662 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Paychex stake by purchasing 56.19 million shares, bringing its holdings to 56.75 million shares valued at approximately $5.58 billion, or 15.96% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $125.65; recent targets range from $107 to $225, reflecting mixed views on the stock.
• Paychex slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $1.32 EPS and $1.61 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10,017.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,750,570 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 56,189,662 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 15.96% of Paychex worth $5,580,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,494,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,296,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $1,174,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,928,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Paychex by 83.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 41,248 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens started coverage on Paychex in a research note on Friday, September 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.65.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $114.75 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.54. The company has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $135.97.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers' compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.

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