Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Sells 27,155 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA reduced its Paychex stake by 26.2% in the first quarter, selling 27,155 shares and ending with 76,519 shares valued at about $7.05 million.
• Paychex reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.31 estimate and revenue of $1.61 billion, up 12.5% year over year.
• The company increased its dividend to $1.19 per share quarterly, implying a 4.5% yield, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,519 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 27,155 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

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

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised Paychex from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.80.

Paychex 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.

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