California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 560,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,535 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $51,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,809,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.20.

Paychex Stock Down 4.7%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $116.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $146.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.03 and a 200 day moving average of $98.48. The firm has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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