Analysts Set Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target at $108.75

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.3750.

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $89.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.49.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.15%.

About Paychex

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.