Stifel Nicolaus Raises Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $141.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $130.00 to $141.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its stake in Paychex by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is 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.