Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Announces Earnings Results

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex updated its FY25 guidance to $4.96-5.05 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance to 4.960-5.050 EPS.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $137.81. 4,199,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,801,356. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.45. Paychex has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.