Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $130.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an in-line rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $125.66 on Tuesday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $104.09 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.39. 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 company has a market cap of $45.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rogco LP boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Paychex

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.