Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $148.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $130.00 to $148.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.45 and a 200 day moving average 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. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. 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 previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 120,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,164,000 after purchasing an additional 42,728 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its position in Paychex by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 65,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,761,000 after purchasing an additional 4,242 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 18,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Paychex by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 143,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,960,000 after buying an additional 33,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,038,000. Hedge funds and other 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.