Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.21% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $99.81 on Tuesday. Paychex has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $148.76. The firm 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 current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its 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. 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 company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,699,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 773.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,321,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.