Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Cut to $148.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $158.00 to $148.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3%

Paychex stock opened at $138.41 on Thursday. Paychex has a 1-year low of $126.78 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $951,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $887,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 2,994 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $121,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.