UBS Group Boosts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $142.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $125.00 to $142.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. 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 MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $142.04. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.