Stephens Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Stephens from $132.00 to $113.00 in a report released on Thursday. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.97% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PAYX opened at $104.66 on Thursday. Paychex has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $130.32. The stock has a market cap of $37.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.09.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Paychex by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.0% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the second quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Paychex reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, above the $1.32–$1.33 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion, in line with expectations. Operating margin expanded to 38.0% from 35.2%. Paychex Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results
• Positive Sentiment: PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue rose 12% to $367.6 million, prompting Paychex to raise its full-year growth outlook for that segment to 7%–8%, from 6%–7%.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded PAYX from “underweight” to “neutral” and assigned a $115 price target, suggesting potential upside from the stock’s recent level. JPMorgan upgrades Paychex
• Positive Sentiment: The company introduced WISE Hire, an agentic AI recruiting product designed to automate candidate sourcing, matching and workflow management. The offering could support longer-term cross-selling and platform expansion. Paychex Introduces WISE Hire

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.