WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 263 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $122.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 667,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,870. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50. The stock has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target (down previously from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.