Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) had its target price trimmed by Cowen from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.
Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PAYX. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $138.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 29th. Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $151.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $130.77.
NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.36 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $121.44 and its two hundred day moving average price is $124.75. Paychex has a 1 year low of $106.55 and a 1 year high of $141.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.98.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 30.20% and a return on equity of 43.65%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 11th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.29%.
In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.26, for a total transaction of $3,672,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 52,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,394,819.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Karen E. Saunders-Mcclendon sold 203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.69, for a total transaction of $27,748.07. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,249.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,565,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,171,334,000 after purchasing an additional 185,683 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,343,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,004,568,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Paychex by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,362,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,233,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Paychex by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,918,000 after purchasing an additional 553,659 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Paychex by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,443,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,698,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,122,688 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Paychex Company Profile: (Get Rating)
Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States and Europe. The company 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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