Paychex’s (PAYX) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $148.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.06% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $139.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.70. Paychex has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 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.