Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,701 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Dohj LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $120.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.