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

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $105.80.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $114.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.05 and a 200-day moving average of $98.39. Paychex has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The stock has a market cap of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 773.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,321,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,277 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.