UBS Group Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $145.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by research analysts at UBS Group from $155.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.74% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company 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 issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.55.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.93 on Thursday, hitting $143.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,849,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,103. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.73 and a 200-day moving average of $147.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $2,000,000. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 159,590 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,622,000 after buying an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 38,111 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,880,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $124,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 28.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,814 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.