Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 59.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,157 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.19.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $95.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $152.57.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.