Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) was upgraded by TD Cowen to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PAYX has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $94.49 on Monday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $33.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.16 and a 200-day moving average of $101.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,569,218,000 after purchasing an additional 216,045 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after purchasing an additional 263,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after purchasing an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.