Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 100 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,092,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,716,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 619,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,799,000 after buying an additional 12,932 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.08 on Thursday, hitting $121.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,460,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,315. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.38 and a 200 day moving average of $120.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 85.40%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.