Private Trust Co. NA Sells 126 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $151.67 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.23 and a 200-day moving average of $140.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.