Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $123.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.00.

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $28,000. West Tower Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $121.14 on Friday. Paychex has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.26 and a 200 day moving average of $120.16.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

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.