Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $8.44 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $120.10 on Friday. The company 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

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 purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective 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 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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, Bank of America boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Company 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.