Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Has $7.05 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,155 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $106.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.76. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $148.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.