Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Barclays from $140.00 to $155.00 in a 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 target suggests a potential upside of 1.82% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.83.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $1.20 on Monday, hitting $152.23. The company had a trading volume of 456,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,890,300. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.37. The stock has a market cap of $54.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its position in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.