Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $130.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $130.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.72% from the stock’s previous close.

PAYX has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Down 1.0 %

PAYX stock opened at $139.36 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.19 and a 200 day moving average of $124.70. The firm has a market cap of $50.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.2% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 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.