Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eleven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.23.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.50 on Wednesday. Paychex has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $52.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.95.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.