Webster Bank N. A. Sells 15,157 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Webster Bank N. A. decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 59.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,157 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $95.93 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $152.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.46. The company has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given 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 5.0%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.19.

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.