Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $131.62 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.62.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $202,016,000 after buying an additional 114,132 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,557,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $139.54 on Friday. Paychex has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.