Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $148.00 target price on the business services provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.06% from the company's current price.
Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.62.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on PAYX
Paychex Trading Up 1.3 %
PAYX stock traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,924,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,053. The company has a market capitalization of $50.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.73 and a 200 day moving average of $132.62. Paychex has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex
In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.
Paychex Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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