Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $142.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $125.00 to $142.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. Paychex has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.83. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given 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 yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,007,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $115,494,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 48,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,047 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 73,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares in the last quarter. 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.