Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Bank & Trust Co

Bank & Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Paychex by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $202,016,000 after acquiring an additional 114,132 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,557,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $2.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.69. 754,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,544,805. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.06. The firm has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

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.