First National Bank of Omaha Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First National Bank of Omaha cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Omaha’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $142.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.46. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.