Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $154.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.56 and a 200 day moving average of $143.65.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued 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 2.54%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.83.

About Paychex

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.