Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $146.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.