William Blair Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for Paychex

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Paychex in a report issued on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.20 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.19. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Paychex's Q2 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.47 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.29 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.33 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.79 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.48 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.90 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Paychex Stock Up 2.2%

PAYX stock opened at $141.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.75.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

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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