Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $145.00 at Citigroup

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $125.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $132.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.15. Paychex has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $137.40.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.