New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 13,590 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Paychex by 4.7%, selling 13,590 shares and holding 273,699 shares worth about $30.7 million (≈0.08% of the company) after the quarter.
• Paychex beat quarterly expectations with $1.71 EPS vs. $1.67 estimate and revenue of $1.81 billion (up 19.9% year-over-year), and its board authorized a $1.00 billion share buyback (up to 2.5% of outstanding shares).
• Several analysts have cut price targets and ratings recently, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 owned approximately 0.08% of Paychex worth $30,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its position in Paychex by 61.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 20.6% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,494,000 after purchasing an additional 41,114 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1,938.2% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 45,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 23.9% in the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,626,000 after acquiring an additional 19,185 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

Paychex stock opened at $93.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target 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.

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