Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $125.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $132.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Paychex by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,880,000 after buying an additional 10,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.