Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Decreased by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 78,794 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $36,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $145.01 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

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.