Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 11,238 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,238 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,820,000 after acquiring an additional 249,550 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after acquiring an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,650,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $90.91 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.66 and a 200 day moving average of $109.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 95.15%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $108.81.

Paychex Company Profile

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.