Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $257,699,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,601,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $785,000. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Paychex by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 539,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,548,000 after buying an additional 49,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $96.98 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.74. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

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.