Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 52,184 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 54.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,184 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Paychex were worth $16,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. 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. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $235,286,000 after purchasing an additional 511,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $94.92 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.96 and its 200 day moving average is $101.66.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.85%.

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.