Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $121.19 on Thursday. Paychex has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,418,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,623,093,000 after acquiring an additional 487,031 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,858,000 after buying an additional 246,791 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Paychex by 5.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,022,000 after buying an additional 182,648 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.