Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Paychex by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,371,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 181,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,419,000 after buying an additional 4,286 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth $2,557,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 159,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,968,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.11 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.19 and its 200-day moving average is $136.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.