UBS Group Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $132.00

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its price target for Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock, which implies a 7.14% potential upside.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for Paychex, with Wolfe Research and Argus leading recent cuts to $140.00 and $150.00, respectively, highlighting a generally negative outlook.
• Paychex reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.22, beating expectations and showing a revenue increase of 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at UBS Group from $140.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.14% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $142.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $123.20 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $136.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.55. The company has a market cap of $44.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex has a one year low of $119.02 and a one year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The company's 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. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following 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. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $302,244,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Paychex by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares during the period. 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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