Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Upgraded by TD Cowen to Hold Rating

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PAYX. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $94.49 on Monday. Paychex has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $33.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.84. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $92.16 and a 200-day moving average of $101.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.