Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $122.46.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $125.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.82. Paychex has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,823 shares of company stock valued at $16,977,648 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 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.