First PREMIER Bank Sells 314 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First PREMIER Bank cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.77 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.89. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.