Hilltop National Bank Sells 193 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hilltop National Bank cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.01. 476,489 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,720,263. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.24. The company has a market capitalization of $50.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.