New Hampshire Trust Sells 256 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

New Hampshire Trust lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Paychex were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $125.08 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.22 and its 200-day moving average is $122.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 85.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex 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.