TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $95.00 to $94.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on PAYX. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $108.75.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3%

PAYX stock opened at $91.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex has a one year low of $86.89 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.63.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 811,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,012,000 after purchasing an additional 24,053 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.