Analysts Offer Predictions for Paychex, Inc.'s Q4 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Paychex in a report released on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.10 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.71 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.14 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.95 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PAYX. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,281,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,806,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Paychex has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $122.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.16.

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

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% in the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 39,574 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 195,508 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,557 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 117.1% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 9.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.56%.

Paychex Company Profile

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.