Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 78,549 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.05% of Paychex worth $24,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 40.6% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $93.27 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.70 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.44.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.