Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by NBT Bank N A NY

NBT Bank N A NY trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $146.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex Company 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.