Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 87,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $257,699,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $75,921,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 15.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $96.98 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.74. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.85%.

Paychex Company Profile

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.