Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Paychex, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with one sell and ten hold ratings, and a consensus target price of $150.20.
• Company executives, including Chairman Martin Mucci and CEO John B. Gibson, have sold significant shares recently, decreasing their ownership by 17.91% and 13.14% respectively.
• Paychex announced a $1.08 quarterly dividend to be paid on August 29, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, amidst a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $150.20.

Several brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $122.07 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.60.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

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.

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