Sara Bay Financial Has $720,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sara Bay Financial cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Sara Bay Financial’s holdings in Paychex were worth $720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 6,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 16,031 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.79, for a total value of $1,920,353.49. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,829.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.17.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $122.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,167,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $44.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.86 and a 200-day moving average of $119.52.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 21st. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.62% and a return on equity of 46.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

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.