Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.83.

Remove Ads

Paychex Trading Down 0.9 %

PAYX traded down $1.41 on Monday, hitting $153.53. 2,606,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,884,806. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Paychex's payout ratio is 81.67%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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.