Q1 2025 EPS Estimates for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Reduced by Analyst

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Paychex in a research report issued on Monday, July 22nd. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will earn $1.13 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.16. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Paychex's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $123.24. 2,783,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,864,876. Paychex has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $44.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.93 and a 200-day moving average of $121.74.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 812,585 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $96,787,000 after buying an additional 52,076 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $151,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 48,793 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,812,000 after buying an additional 6,148 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,869 shares of company stock valued at $15,870,933 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.