Heritage Trust Co Has $654,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 36.8% during the first quarter, now owning 4,242 shares valued at $654,000.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Paychex, with Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raising its holdings by 118.5%, now owning 136,876 shares valued at approximately $21.1 million.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, yielding 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%, and the ex-dividend date was set for July 21st.

Heritage Trust Co cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 36.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,242 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,468 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Paychex were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 118.5% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 15.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 7.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 31.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $139.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $149.17 and its 200 day moving average is $148.65. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.07 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Paychex 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.

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