New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 400 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $120.10 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.39. The stock has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. 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 released its earnings results 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. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 77.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

About Paychex

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.