Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $141.00 to $156.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target suggests a potential upside of 3.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.75.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $150.19 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.04. The stock has a market cap of $54.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.