Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,681 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1,753.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $148.40 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. The stock has a market cap of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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