Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $132.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $118.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 1.23% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.08.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $133.65. The stock had a trading volume of 117,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,327. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $48.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $137.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Paychex by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.