Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives “In-Line” Rating from Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reiterated their in-line rating on shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has a $118.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen restated a market perform rating and set a $123.00 price target (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $122.77.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $122.80 on Tuesday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $104.09 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.51.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,418,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,623,093,000 after purchasing an additional 487,031 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,204,115,000 after buying an additional 1,523,520 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after acquiring an additional 62,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after acquiring an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.