Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $150.75 and last traded at $150.54, with a volume of 726850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $142.83 and its 200 day moving average is $137.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $54.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Avion Wealth grew its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.