Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $159.93 and last traded at $159.85, with a volume of 206174 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.55.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $57.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $150.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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 value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently 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.