Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Target Price at $108.19

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has been assigned 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 assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.6667.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. Stephens reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 23.9% during the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after buying an additional 19,185 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Paychex by 35.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 63,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,069,000 after buying an additional 16,812 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA grew its position in Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after buying an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $99.81 on Tuesday. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. 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 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

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.