Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $148.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted 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. Citigroup boosted 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. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.55.

Paychex Stock Down 0.0%

PAYX stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.31. 957,798 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,907,108. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.87. Paychex has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $162.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,907,314,000 after purchasing an additional 286,818 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after acquiring an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,731,000 after acquiring an additional 181,628 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.