Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $148.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.95% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on PAYX. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.55.

Paychex Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of PAYX traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.76. The stock had a trading volume of 994,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,718. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.75. The firm has a market cap of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Paychex by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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