Sabal Trust CO Reduces Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sabal Trust CO cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,685 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,101 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.9% of Sabal Trust CO's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Sabal Trust CO owned approximately 0.06% of Paychex worth $34,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Paychex by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $2.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,103. The company has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

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.