First City Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First City Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up about 0.8% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Paychex by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,282,000 after buying an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $202,016,000 after buying an additional 114,132 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth $2,557,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $139.74. 361,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,288. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.76. The company has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) 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 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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