First National Trust Co Sells 1,125 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $23,330,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $774,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1 %

Paychex stock opened at $132.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $133.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

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.