Krane Funds Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Paychex by 15.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,881 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $5,673,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,880,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Paychex by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 258,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,720,000 after buying an additional 88,394 shares during the period. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 33,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $143.32 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.88 and its 200 day moving average is $143.99. The company has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. 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 twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

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.