Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $111.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Bank of America from $108.00 to $111.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 7.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $119.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Paychex has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.3% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.