Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT at $122.62

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $134.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.59. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last ninety days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.