Webster Bank N. A. Sells 335 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 260.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 254.4% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 319 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Ahrens Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 72.18% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

PAYX stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $115.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 674,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,928,467. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.26 and its 200-day moving average is $114.19. The company has a market cap of $41.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 31.10%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $2,433,727.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,352,685.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $2,433,727.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 86,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,352,685.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total transaction of $5,724,417.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,208. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 221,916 shares of company stock worth $26,789,753. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. SpectralCast restated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Paychex in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.12.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.