JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $133.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.46 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.18 and a 200 day moving average of $129.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $346,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $331,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Paychex by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 16,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.