New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $56.80 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 476,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,109 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Paychex worth $56,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 188.1% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. raised its stake in Paychex by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 2,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Paychex by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,611,000 after purchasing an additional 11,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $121.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.33. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.