Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.62.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in 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 during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.27 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.39 and a 200 day moving average of $130.83. The company has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.