Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) PT at $108.20

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in Paychex by 5.1% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $122.02 on Wednesday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $141.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

About Paychex

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.