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

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 263,975 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 78,794 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $36,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

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Paychex Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $147.99. 1,897,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,771,043. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $53.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.