Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.5333.

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $110.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.