Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $125.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $150.00 to $125.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $135.60.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $112.06 on Friday. Paychex has a 52-week low of $108.00 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.36 and a 200 day moving average of $134.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $40.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.