Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) - What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Paychex, with 13 of 18 brokers rating the stock a hold. The average 12-month price target is $127.59, though several firms recently lowered targets while JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral.
• Paychex exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.34 in EPS versus the $1.32 consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield, while institutional investors own 83.47% of outstanding shares.

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.59.

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens cut their price target on Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Paychex from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Paychex from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total value of $844,103.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,800,148. The trade was a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,684 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 14,099 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,293 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,417,067,000 after purchasing an additional 361,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $118.04 on Monday. Paychex has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $127.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.44%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee-benefits solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance management, recruiting, onboarding, human resources administration, compliance support and employee benefits services.

The company also provides retirement-plan services, insurance solutions and professional employer organization services. Through its software and outsourced services, Paychex helps employers manage workforce administration, employee data and regulatory requirements.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by B.

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