Avanza Fonder AB Takes $3.41 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 24,280 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,405,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,328,000 after acquiring an additional 51,085 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,568 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $239,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Paychex by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 7.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.29. 2,115,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,988. 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 $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.