Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $125.67 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.9375.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Paychex by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 53,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 6.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 48.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,260,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $155,341,000 after purchasing an additional 414,196 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Paychex by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 255,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,716,000 after purchasing an additional 24,820 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

PAYX opened at $106.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a one year low of $105.29 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $111.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.