Barclays Downgrades Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) to Underweight

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) was downgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, The Fly reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 7.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on PAYX. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $131.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Paychex to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Cowen raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.08.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $118.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average is $120.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Paychex has a 1 year low of $105.66 and a 1 year high of $141.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 45.50%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 13,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total value of $1,584,683.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,800.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 13,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total value of $1,584,683.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,800.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.06, for a total transaction of $33,095.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,804,281.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,451 shares of company stock valued at $1,664,997. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.14% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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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.