Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $114.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.05. Paychex has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $130.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.