First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 342 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Paychex by 805.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

PAYX stock opened at $140.25 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.33 and its 200 day moving average is $134.20. The company has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.