Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $139.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $133.00 to $139.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.09 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.00 and its 200 day moving average is $129.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2,139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,667,000 after purchasing an additional 282,487 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 40,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,466,000 after purchasing an additional 10,502 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.