Jefferies Financial Group Raises Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $130.00

by · The Markets Daily

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Paychex

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 in the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 120,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,164,000 after buying an additional 42,728 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 65,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,761,000 after acquiring an additional 4,242 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 18,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30.0% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 143,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,960,000 after purchasing an additional 33,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at $10,038,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Paychex

(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.

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