Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Has $9.11 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,544 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 0.9% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $3.61 on Monday, reaching $136.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,628,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,387. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company 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 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.