Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PAYX. Barclays increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $143.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.