Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.58.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,616,000 after buying an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHE LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 21,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.