New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $44.63 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 289,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,398 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Paychex worth $44,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.7% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 52,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,122,000 after buying an additional 2,836 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management boosted its position in Paychex by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,914 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 69,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,743,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 70.6% in the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 4.9% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.11.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.96 on Tuesday, reaching $147.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,666,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,952. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $151.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

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.