Robert W. Baird Lowers Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $148.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird has lowered its price target for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) from $153.00 to $148.00, while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• The current price target suggests a potential upside of 16.74% from Paychex's present trading price.
• Analysts' consensus forecast places Paychex's average price target at $142.83, with eleven analysts giving it a Hold rating and two a Sell rating.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $153.00 to $148.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective points to a potential upside of 16.74% from the company's current price.

PAYX has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $142.83.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $126.78 on Wednesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $137.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex 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. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,215,957 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,686,133,000 after acquiring an additional 408,114 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $1,604,906,000 after buying an additional 251,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the second 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 boosted 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 buying an additional 181,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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