Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PAYX. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an in-line rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $117.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $42.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.06. Paychex has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.