Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,204 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 15,506 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,052,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,753,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $151.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $143.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.69.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Paychex Company 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.