Wedbush Comments on Paychex, Inc.'s FY2025 Earnings (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Wedbush issued their FY2025 EPS estimates for Paychex in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wedbush analyst M. Katri expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $5.02 for the year. Wedbush currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.72 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.38. 2,052,156 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,896. Paychex has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average is $121.92 and its 200-day moving average is $119.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 35.7% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,455 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Paychex by 118.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,985 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $1,019,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $237,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.56%.

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.