Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Target Price at $142.55

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.55.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.22. 2,525,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,900,202. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $150.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.42. Paychex has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

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.