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

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eleven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.62.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.83. Paychex has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.