Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Upgraded to Buy (B-) at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Paychex has been upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (C+)" to a "buy (B-)" rating, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• Despite the upgrade, several analysts have lowered their price targets for Paychex, with UBS Group setting it at $132.00 and Wolfe Research at $140.00.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 EPS, beating analyst estimates, and its revenue showed a 16.8% year-over-year increase.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $126.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.99. The company has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

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 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.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. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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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