Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 39.8% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $120.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $121.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.