Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given the consensus rating of “Reduce” by analysts

Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Your Free Report ) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.62.

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Read our latest review of PAYX

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $134.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $134.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37, and a current ratio of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.37 and its two hundred day moving average is $123.18.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same period last year, the firm posted earnings of $0.97 per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8. This represents a dividend of $3.92 on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Paychex’s payout rate is 83.94%.

Insider buying and selling

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of shares are owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds influence Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.1% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 3.2% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s shares.

About Paychex

(Get a free report

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management (HCM) solutions for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR) and insurance services to small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe and India. Provides payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; payment services for employees; and regulatory compliance services such as new hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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