Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $153.99 and last traded at $154.29, with a volume of 207258 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $54.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $145.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.