Forsta AP Fonden Has $17.81 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 127,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Paychex were worth $17,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Paychex by 75.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Paychex by 1.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 44,333 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,256,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $148.92. 273,727 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,845,413. The company has a market cap of $53.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.93. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.