Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,473 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $6,051,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 57,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,426,000. L.M. Kohn & Company increased its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 8,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.0% during the third quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $146.27 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.83. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on 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 increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.