Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. American National Bank grew its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

Paychex stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,382,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,834,962. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $123.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.