Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $105.95 and traded as high as $119.47. Paychex shares last traded at $118.04, with a volume of 2,340,078 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.59.

Paychex Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.95.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 94.44%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,800,148. The trade was a 8.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 45.5% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee-benefits solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance management, recruiting, onboarding, human resources administration, compliance support and employee benefits services.

The company also provides retirement-plan services, insurance solutions and professional employer organization services. Through its software and outsourced services, Paychex helps employers manage workforce administration, employee data and regulatory requirements.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by B.