Paychex (PAYX) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Paychex, Inc., founded in 1971 by B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools. In addition to software, the company supplies ancillary services such as hiring and onboarding support, employee screening, HR consulting, and various insurance products, enabling clients to scale administrative capabilities as their businesses grow.

While Paychex’s client focus is primarily on the U.S. market and on small- to medium-sized employers, its services are structured to address federal, state and local payroll and compliance needs across multiple jurisdictions. The company combines technology, compliance expertise and service-consulting relationships to serve a broad range of industries that require reliable payroll and HR administration.

Paychex is managed by an executive leadership team and governed by a board of directors. Over its history the company has expanded from a regional payroll processor into a diversified provider of HR outsourcing and technology solutions, positioning itself as a longstanding partner for employers seeking to outsource complex payroll and HR functions.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $94.25 to $97.21
• 50-Day Range: $85.57 to $97.00
• 52-Week Range: $85.45 to $161.24
• Volume: 2.59 million shs
• Average Volume: 3.16 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $34.75 billion
• P/E Ratio: 21.37
• Dividend Yield: 4.91%
• Price Target: $106.38
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Paychex Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Paychex scored higher than 74% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 236th out of 624 stocks in the computer and technology sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.7 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Paychex has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.94, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 1 buy rating, 12 hold ratings, and 4 sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Paychex is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Paychex has been the subject of 14 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.45%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Paychex are expected to grow by 7.45% in the coming year, from $5.50 to $5.91 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Paychex is 21.37, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.75.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Paychex is 21.37, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Computer and Technology sector average P/E ratio of about 170.15.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Paychex has a P/B Ratio of 8.46. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

5.38% of the float of Paychex has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Paychex has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.02.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Paychex has recently decreased by 6.05%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Leadership

Paychex is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 4.91%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Paychex has only been increasing its dividend for 3 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Paychex is 104.85%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on EPS estimates, Paychex will have a dividend payout ratio of 80.54% in the coming year. This indicates that Paychex may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.11

News Sentiment

Paychex has a news sentiment score of 1.11. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.53 average news sentiment score of Computer and Technology companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for Paychex this week, compared to 9 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

35 people have searched for PAYX on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 40% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 3 people have added Paychex to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -40% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Paychex insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

0.80% of the stock of Paychex is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

83.47% of the stock of Paychex is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 2/27 Dividend: 1/28/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 2/27 Dividend: 1/28/2026
• Dividend Payable: 2/27/2026
• Last Earnings: 3/25/2026
• Record date for 5/29 Dividend: 5/13/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 5/29 Dividend: 5/13/2026
• Today: 5/23/2026
• Dividend Payable: 5/29/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 5/31/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 6/24/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Computer and Technology
• Industry: INTERNET SOFTWARE
• Sub-Industry: Data Processing & Outsourced Services
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:PAYX
• CIK: 723531
• Web: www.paychex.com
• Phone: (585) 385-6666
• Fax: 302-655-5049
• Employees: 19,000
• Year Founded: 1971

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Paychex: $106.38
• High Price Target: $155.00
• Low Price Target: $52.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +9.7%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.94
• Research Coverage: 18 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $4.54
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 21.37
• Forward P/E Ratio: 17.64
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $1.66 billion
• Net Margins: 25.84%
• Pretax Margin: 33.88%
• Return on Equity: 48.52%
• Return on Assets: 11.54%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.13
• Current Ratio: 1.26
• Quick Ratio: 1.26

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $5.57 billion
• Price / Sales: 6.24
• Cash Flow: $6.31 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 15.38
• Book Value: $11.46 per share
• Price / Book: 8.46

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 358,290,000
• Free Float: 355,425,000
• Market Cap: $34.75 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.84