Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,872 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Paychex by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $121.23 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.30. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Company 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.