Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Has Average Price Target of $127.59 According to Analysts

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.59.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th.

Paychex Stock Down 1.9%

PAYX opened at $98.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.86. Paychex has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $129.24. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.25.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 94.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,417,067,000 after acquiring an additional 361,713 shares during the period. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the second quarter worth about $220,000. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.2% in the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 15.2% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its services are designed to help employers manage workforce administration, compliance and employee-related processes through integrated software and professional support.

The company’s offerings include payroll processing, time and attendance tracking, human resources administration, recruiting and onboarding tools, benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance solutions.