Danske Bank A S Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its Paychex stake by 14.0% in Q4, owning 205,341 shares worth about $23.04 million (roughly 0.06% of the company).
• Paychex beat Q results with $1.71 EPS versus $1.67 expected and revenue of $1.81 billion (up 19.9% YoY), and its board approved a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 2.5% of shares).
• Analysts have a cautious view: Paychex's average rating is listed as "Reduce" with an average price target of $106.38, while the stock trades around $93 (market cap ≈ $33.3B, P/E ≈ 20.5).

Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 205,341 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $23,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its position in shares of Paychex by 61.4% during the third quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 20.6% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,114 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1,938.2% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 45,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 23.9% in the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,626,000 after buying an additional 19,185 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Argus raised Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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 issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average 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.

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