Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Upgraded at Stephens

Key Points

• Paychex was upgraded to a "hold" rating by analysts at Stephens, amidst a series of recent target price cuts from various research firms.
• The company's stock closed at $126.59, with a market cap of $45.56 billion, and it reported a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year, with an EPS of $1.22 for the last quarter.
• Insider trading activity showed CEO John B. Gibson sold over 12,000 shares of Paychex stock, indicating a 13.14% decrease in their ownership position.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stephens to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PAYX. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3%

PAYX opened at $126.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $134.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The firm's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently 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.

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