Keeler Thomas Management LLC Sells 5,918 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Keeler Thomas Management LLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,918 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.63.

Paychex Stock Down 1.8%

Paychex stock opened at $99.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.75 and its 200-day moving average is $100.07. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $154.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.85%.

About Paychex

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.