Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.3571.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Stephens upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $126.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.28 and a 200-day moving average of $142.59. The firm has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex has a twelve month low of $119.02 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

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. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Paychex Company Profile

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.