Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.700-4.740 EPS.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $121.17. The company had a trading volume of 452,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,626. Paychex has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.62. The stock has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 77.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 189.9% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 7,185 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,666,000 after purchasing an additional 4,268 shares in the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 6,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.