TD Cowen Lowers Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $126.00

Key Points

• TD Cowen has lowered its price target for Paychex (PAYX) from $140.00 to $126.00, maintaining a "hold" rating on the stock, which indicates a potential downside of 0.62% from its current price.
• Several analysts have provided varying price targets for Paychex, with Jefferies setting a target of $130.00 and Barclays at $155.00, reflecting mixed sentiments among analysts.
• Paychex recently reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at TD Cowen from $140.00 to $126.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock. TD Cowen's price target indicates a potential downside of 0.62% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $142.83.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $126.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $137.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Paychex by 118.5% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 166.9% in the 2nd quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 3,965 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $832,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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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