Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $132.23 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eleven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.23.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.29 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.27 and a 200-day moving average of $135.43. The company has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

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.