Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $150.75 and last traded at $150.54, with a volume of 726850 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research 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, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $143.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.89.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Avion Wealth raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.