Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 80,427 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,427 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.10% of Paychex worth $43,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $133.17 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $137.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $127.74 and its 200-day moving average is $123.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.