Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $153.99 and last traded at $154.29, with a volume of 207258 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.