Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $9.54 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $257,699,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $75,921,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Paychex by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.53 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.17 and a 200-day moving average of $100.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price 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.