Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 779 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 1.3% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,757,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,347,252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,599,000 after purchasing an additional 62,739 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,673,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $771,164,000 after purchasing an additional 651,753 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 56.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,380,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $501,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. 3M reaffirmed an “initiates” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.12.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $119.30 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.10 and a 200-day moving average of $114.07. The firm has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 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 twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.10% and a return on equity of 46.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 12,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.02, for a total value of $1,373,871.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 53,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,042,049.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 12,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.02, for a total transaction of $1,373,871.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,042,049.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 10,850 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.99, for a total transaction of $1,258,491.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,200,825.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,916 shares of company stock valued at $26,789,753 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

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.