Wolfe Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wolfe Research has reduced its price target for Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00, maintaining an "underperform" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 10.10% from the stock's previous close.
• The consensus rating for Paychex among analysts is now "Reduce", with an average price target of $145.91, reflecting a generally cautious outlook.
• Notably, CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci have significantly reduced their stakes in the company through recent stock sales, highlighting concerns from company leadership regarding the stock's performance.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an "underperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Wolfe Research's price target points to a potential upside of 10.10% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $145.91.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $127.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.22. Paychex has a 12 month low of $126.13 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

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

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.0% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.

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