Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $148.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $139.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.62. Paychex has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Paychex by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.