Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Decreases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments cut its stake in Paychex by 30.3% in Q4, selling 164,949 shares and leaving it with 379,071 shares (about 0.11% of the company) valued at $42.52 million.
• Paychex beat Q results with $1.71 EPS vs. $1.67 expected and revenue of $1.81B (up 19.9% YoY), and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase (~2.5% of shares).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $106.38 average price target, reflecting recent target cuts by several firms despite a few upgrades.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,071 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 164,949 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned approximately 0.11% of Paychex worth $42,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $493,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 75,914 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,516,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.8% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,470,000 after buying an additional 27,693 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Argus raised Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $91.96 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.48. The company has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.88. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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