Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $1.61 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,510 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $148.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,674,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,658. The business's fifty day moving average is $143.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.