Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives $139.87 Average Price Target from Analysts

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and thirteen have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $139.8667.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $112.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $109.99 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.03.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group lifted its holdings in Paychex by 4.7% in the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in Paychex by 3.4% in the second quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 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.