Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eleven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.23.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.29 on Tuesday. Paychex has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $142.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.19. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 38,655.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,627,000 after purchasing an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,351,000 after buying an additional 384,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,278,142,000 after buying an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Paychex by 2,404.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 330,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,391,000 after buying an additional 317,634 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

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.