Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Cut to $102.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $125.00 to $102.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $121.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $91.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.79. Paychex has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $535,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 811,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,012,000 after acquiring an additional 24,053 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $126,000. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.