Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $131.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective upped by TD Cowen from $126.00 to $131.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.83. 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 has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. 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 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.