Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target at $106.38

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.3750.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

Paychex stock opened at $93.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.15%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,005,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $92,601,000 after acquiring an additional 34,823 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $260,000. Glenview Trust Co boosted its stake in Paychex by 12.3% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 22,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,056,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $360,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 17.4% during the first quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.