Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,841 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3 %

PAYX stock opened at $147.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

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.