Krane Funds Advisors LLC Sells 410 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 6.7 %

Paychex stock opened at $143.32 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

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.