Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Trims Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 379,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 164,949 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $42,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $91.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

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.