Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by First Bank & Trust

First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 80.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Paychex were worth $956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 7,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $982,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $671,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $150.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.78 and a 200-day moving average of $139.36. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. 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.