Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $125.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $132.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.23. 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 has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30.0% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 143,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,960,000 after acquiring an additional 33,047 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,038,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.4% during the second quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 23,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 158.5% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 5,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $235,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.