L.M. Kohn & Company Sells 165 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

L.M. Kohn & Company lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 38,655.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after buying an additional 797,843 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,278,142,000 after purchasing an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 330,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,391,000 after purchasing an additional 317,634 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2,139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,667,000 after buying an additional 282,487 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.25 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $143.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.