Kathmere Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 27.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,812,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 1,171.7% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Paychex by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,880,000 after acquiring an additional 10,143 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 226.6% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 28,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,361,000 after acquiring an additional 19,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 542,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,637,000 after acquiring an additional 18,279 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $132.99 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.24. The company has a market capitalization of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Paychex 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.