Stephens Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $113.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Stephens from $132.00 to $113.00 in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 7.97% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 target price (down from $118.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.18.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

PAYX opened at $104.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $119.04 and its 200-day moving average is $104.09. Paychex has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $130.32.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares in the last quarter. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,123,016,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,093,958,000 after buying an additional 78,760 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Paychex

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.