Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT Raised to $131.00 at TD Cowen

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price hoisted by TD Cowen from $126.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 raised their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. Paychex has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $130.45 and its 200-day moving average is $124.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,085. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 120,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,164,000 after acquiring an additional 42,728 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 65,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,761,000 after acquiring an additional 4,242 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 18,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 143,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,960,000 after acquiring an additional 33,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $10,038,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.