Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Lowered to $145.00 at UBS Group

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $155.00 to $145.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.00.

Paychex Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.01 on Thursday. Paychex has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.75.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, King Wealth Management Group increased its position in Paychex by 4.7% during the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.