California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 560,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,535 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of Paychex worth $51,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 47.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $116.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $146.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.