Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.00.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $155.98 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $147.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.76.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.