Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $108.1875.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th.

Paychex Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $95.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $34.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $152.57.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.