Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $148.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $130.00 to $148.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 5.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PAYX. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.54.

Paychex Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $140.84. 392,199 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,283. The company has a market capitalization of $50.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $141.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.49.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, American National Bank increased its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.