Summit Trail Advisors LLC Sells 332 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Paychex by 6.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 56,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,522,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 21.1% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 66,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.74. The stock had a trading volume of 224,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,283. The company has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.42 and its 200 day moving average is $120.44.

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

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.