Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $130.77 Average Price Target from Analysts

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $130.77.

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 1.5 %

PAYX traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $139.33. 1,586,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,786,261. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $135.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.19. Paychex has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

About Paychex

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.