Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $127.59

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.59.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, 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, September 24th.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert 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 value of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the last quarter. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $1,123,016,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $434,061,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $99.78 on Thursday. Paychex has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $129.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $116.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.44%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its services are designed to help employers manage workforce administration, compliance and employee-related processes through integrated software and professional support.

The company’s offerings include payroll processing, time and attendance tracking, human resources administration, recruiting and onboarding tools, benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance solutions.