William Blair Estimates Paychex's Q2 Earnings (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• William Blair has lowered its Q2 2026 earnings estimate for Paychex to $1.22 per share from a previous estimate of $1.23, while the consensus for the full year stands at $4.99 per share.
• Paychex reported Q2 earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.20, and its quarterly revenue increased by 16.8% year-over-year, totaling $1.54 billion.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 83.47% of Paychex's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company despite recent stock performance adjustments from multiple analysts.

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair dropped their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Paychex in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 30th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.22 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Paychex's Q4 2026 earnings at $1.36 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.46 EPS.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $142.83.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $123.42 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.55. The company has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in 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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