Brokerages Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Target Price at $132.23

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com 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 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.23.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Paychex Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.18 on Tuesday, reaching $141.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,729,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,867,268. Paychex has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.