California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 27,664 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,953,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,664 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $232,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 39.8% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3 %

Paychex stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $121.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 161,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,874. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.30. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped 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 objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex 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.