Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $97.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.36. The stock has a market cap of $35.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $152.57.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.85%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $117,809,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 259.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,094,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,747,000 after acquiring an additional 790,000 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.07.

Paychex Company Profile

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.