Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,403 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Paychex were worth $2,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Rogco LP increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. 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.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,823 shares of company stock worth $16,977,648 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX remained flat at $125.75 during midday trading on Monday. 231,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,849,862. The stock has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.91 and a 200 day moving average of $121.84. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.66.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.