Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Increased to $113.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $111.00 to $113.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an in-line rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $117.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.96. Paychex has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 16,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,815,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 4.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.