Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,802 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,802 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Paychex by 47.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $89.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.45 and its 200 day moving average is $102.67.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 95.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Stephens reduced their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

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.