First Bank & Trust Boosts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,817 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust's holdings in Paychex were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.2 %

PAYX traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,674,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,658. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.43. The stock has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.