Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $158.70 and last traded at $158.56, with a volume of 563646 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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.