Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 7,797 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in Paychex, acquiring an additional 7,797 shares, bringing its total holdings to 271,772 shares valued at approximately $41.9 million.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.19 per share, meeting the consensus estimate, alongside a revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which will be paid on August 29th, representing an annualized yield of 2.95%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 271,772 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,797 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.08% of Paychex worth $41,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $146.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.07 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $150.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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