Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $102.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $125.00 to $102.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $121.38.

Paychex Trading Up 0.9%

PAYX opened at $92.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex has a one year low of $86.89 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.30.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $117,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.