Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Increased to $113.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $111.00 to $113.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PAYX. Evercore ISI reiterated an in-line rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $122.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $118.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.90. Paychex has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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, 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.