Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Sells 3,084 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,906 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,084 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 1.0% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Paychex by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.50. 2,157,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,949,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.88. The firm has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.11.

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.