Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Has $8.70 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.3% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,520 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $146,617,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 337.3% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $178,162,000 after buying an additional 1,191,539 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 229.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after buying an additional 1,136,456 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $115,494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.13. 393,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,020. The stock has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.96. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.03.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 85.40%.

Paychex Company 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.