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

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.23.

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 50 day simple moving average of $143.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.56. Paychex has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

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.