New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,521 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,085 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Paychex worth $40,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $139.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,594,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,786,297. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $144.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $135.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.