Morgan Stanley Raises Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $133.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $133.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,673 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,085. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.