Analysts Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT at $122.46

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.46.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 166,872 shares of company stock worth $19,992,573 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $125.21 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.