UBS Group Increases Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $142.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target upped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $125.00 to $142.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.65% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.15.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $1.09 on Wednesday, reaching $139.70. The stock had a trading volume of 127,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,892. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.53 and a 200-day moving average of $124.49. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $141.59. The company has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.1% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.