BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Sells 36,635 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 36,635 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments’ holdings in Paychex were worth $12,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.63.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $98.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.28 and a 200-day moving average of $100.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $159.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.85%.

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.