New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232,065 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 85,675 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $35,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 117.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $1,241,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 108,122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,161,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152 shares during the period. Finally, one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $143.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,834,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,167,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.18. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.33 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

About Paychex

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.