Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.7647.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stephens assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Friday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $115.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.80. Paychex has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.