Strs Ohio Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Strs Ohio grew its position in Paychex by 338.4% in Q4, increasing holdings to 33,830 shares valued at about $3.795 million.
• Paychex raised its quarterly dividend to $1.19 (annualized $4.76, ~5.1% yield) and its board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (≈2.5% of outstanding shares).
• Analysts have trimmed price targets and issued mostly neutral/hold ratings; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Reduce with an average price target of $106.38.

Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 338.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,830 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,114 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $92.85 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.15%.

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