Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,356 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Paychex were worth $20,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $97.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.24. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.