Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $155.45 and last traded at $155.05, with a volume of 79234 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.