Swedbank AB Cuts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Swedbank AB reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 182,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,356 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Paychex were worth $20,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $93.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $161.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.62. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 95.15%.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Profile

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.