Kestra Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 6.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 6.5% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,159,000 after acquiring an additional 20,064 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 151.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 5,872 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $148.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.28. The company has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.