Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given a $140.00 Price Target by Jefferies Financial Group Analysts

Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.00.

Paychex Stock Up 2.2%

PAYX stock opened at $141.01 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.75 and a 200-day moving average of $147.75. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $50.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.