Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Red Cedar Investment Management LLC

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 50.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,837 shares during the period. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $257,699,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $117,809,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $75,921,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $157.51. The stock has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given 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 4.7%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup reduced their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.63.

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.