BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has reduced its target price for Paychex stock from $160.00 to $143.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 10.60% from the stock's previous close.
• Several analysts have updated their price targets for Paychex, with a consensus target price now at $146.50, indicating a generally cautious outlook among investment firms.
• CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci sold significant shares in the company recently, representing a decrease in their holdings by 13.14% and 17.91% respectively.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $160.00 to $143.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target suggests a potential upside of 10.60% from the stock's previous close.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $146.50.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $129.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average is $138.57 and its 200 day moving average is $145.53. Paychex has a 52 week low of $128.23 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 118,140 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,346,000. Finally, Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $370,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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