Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given New $140.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has lowered its price target for Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 10.43% from the current price.
• Despite recent earnings exceeding expectations with an EPS of $1.22, analysts show a consensus rating of "Reduce," with an average price target of $143.27.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares at an average price of $145.17, reflecting a significant decrease in his holdings.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $143.00 to $140.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.43% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.27.

Paychex Trading Down 1.4%

Paychex stock opened at $126.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $137.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,215,957 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,686,133,000 after buying an additional 408,114 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,604,906,000 after purchasing an additional 251,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,481,053,000 after purchasing an additional 274,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,731,000 after purchasing an additional 181,628 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Paychex

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.