Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target at $132.23

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.23.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $147.01 on Friday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

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.