Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Paychex has updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance, forecasting earnings per share between $5.428 and $5.528, compared to a consensus estimate of $5.460.
• The company also provided revenue guidance of $6.5 billion to $6.6 billion, in line with the consensus estimate of $6.5 billion.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08, yielding 3.4%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 5.428-5.528 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 5.460. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.5 billion-$6.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.5 billion.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $128.53 on Tuesday. Paychex has a 1-year low of $126.13 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50 day moving average is $137.37 and its 200-day moving average is $144.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Paychex from $160.00 to $143.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $145.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Paychex by 15.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,280,715 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $330,908,000 after buying an additional 17,869 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 340,809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,574,000 after buying an additional 7,222 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 19.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 270,482 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,344,000 after buying an additional 43,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 19.1% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 192,998 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,073,000 after buying an additional 30,945 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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