City State Bank Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

City State Bank trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. City State Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $140.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.67. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex 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.