Barclays Lowers Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $118.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $120.00 to $118.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PAYX. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $118.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $42.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.84.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 16,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 76.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.1% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 16,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.