Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Makes New $9.16 Million Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 93,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,157,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Paychex by 47.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $119.93 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $141.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.56.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

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.