Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given New $133.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $133.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $130.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $142.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.