Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given New $156.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $141.00 to $156.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PAYX. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.58.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $151.83 on Thursday. Paychex has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $54.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after acquiring an additional 628,912 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 30,382.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,758,000 after acquiring an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.