Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given a $140.00 Price Target by Jefferies Financial Group Analysts

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a $140.00 target price by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,606. The business's 50 day moving average is $151.73 and its 200-day moving average is $147.85. Paychex has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,192,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.