Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given New $115.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group cut Paychex’s price target to $115 from $125 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 9.9% upside. Analysts overall have a “Hold” consensus, with an average target of $128.18.
• Paychex reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.34, beating estimates of $1.32, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion. PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue increased 12%, and the company raised that segment’s full-year growth outlook to 7%–8%.
• The stock opened at $104.66, near the lower end of its 52-week range, while institutional investors own 83.47% of shares. Recent insider activity was net selling, including stock sales by the CFO and a director.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at UBS Group from $125.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.88% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $113.00 price target (down from $118.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Paychex from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $128.18.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $104.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. Paychex has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $130.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after purchasing an additional 361,713 shares during the period. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,948 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,600,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.2% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,529 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,720 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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