Red Cedar Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,837 shares during the quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.63.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $157.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.85%.

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.