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Paychex (PAYX) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Paychex logo
$126.07 +1.70 (+1.37%)
As of 12:30 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more.

Paychex - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

Consensus Rating

Sell
2
Hold
13
Buy
0

Based on 15 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Paychex in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce." Out of the 15 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, and 13 have given a hold rating for PAYX.

Consensus Price Target

$141.29
12.07% Upside
According to the 15 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Paychex, the average price target is $141.29. The highest price target for PAYX is $165.00, while the lowest price target for PAYX is $126.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 12.07% from the current price of $126.07.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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PAYX Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
10/7/24 to 10/7/25
1 Month Ago
9/7/24 to 9/7/25
3 Months Ago
7/9/24 to 7/9/25
1 Year Ago
10/8/23 to 10/7/24
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
Hold
13 Hold rating(s)
10 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
Sell
2 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
2 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$141.29$149.70$149.11$130.77
Forecasted Upside12.07% Upside10.53% Upside2.17% Upside-4.85% Downside
Consensus RatingReduceReduceReduceReduce

PAYX Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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PAYX Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
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Paychex Stock vs. The Competition

TypePaychexComputer and Technology CompaniesS&P 500
Consensus Rating Score
1.87
2.31
2.51
Consensus RatingReduceHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside13.60% Upside53.27% Upside169.99% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Neutral News

See Recent PAYX News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
10/6/2025Stephens
4 of 5 stars
Charles Nabhan
Charles Nabhan
Not Rated
Initiated CoverageEqual Weight$135.00+8.55%
10/2/2025UBS Group
4 of 5 stars
Kevin McVeigh
Not Rated
Lower TargetNeutral$140.00 ➝ $132.00+6.95%
10/2/2025Argus
4 of 5 stars
 Lower Target$170.00 ➝ $150.00+21.54%
10/1/2025Morgan Stanley
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Lower TargetEqual Weight$148.00 ➝ $132.00+4.12%
10/1/2025JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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Lower TargetUnderweight$153.00 ➝ $140.00+12.63%
10/1/2025Robert W. Baird
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 Lower TargetNeutral$153.00 ➝ $148.00+16.74%
10/1/2025TD Cowen
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 Lower TargetHold$140.00 ➝ $126.00-0.62%
10/1/2025Stifel Nicolaus
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Lower TargetHold$142.00 ➝ $137.00+8.06%
10/1/2025BMO Capital Markets
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Lower TargetMarket Perform$143.00 ➝ $140.00+10.43%
9/30/2025Jefferies Financial Group
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 Set Target$130.00+2.54%
9/27/2025Weiss Ratings
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 Reiterated RatingHold (C+)
9/26/2025Wolfe Research
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 Lower TargetUnderperform$145.00 ➝ $140.00+10.51%
8/21/2025Citigroup
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Lower TargetNeutral$158.00 ➝ $148.00+6.79%
6/24/2025Barclays
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Set TargetEqual Weight$155.00+2.91%
6/24/2025Royal Bank Of Canada
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Set TargetSector Perform$165.00+9.55%
3/27/2025Cfra Research
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UpgradeHold
6/27/2024Bank of America
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 Boost TargetUnderperform$111.00 ➝ $113.00-3.74%
4/3/2024Wedbush
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 Reiterated RatingNeutral$115.00-5.80%
3/26/2024Evercore ISI
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 Reiterated RatingIn-Line$118.00-1.14%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Tuesday at 12:16 PM ET.


Should I Buy Paychex Stock? PAYX Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Sunday, October 5, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Paychex pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Paychex
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Paychex, Inc.:

  • The current stock price is around $136, which reflects a strong performance in the market.
  • Paychex, Inc. reported a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 16.8%, indicating robust business growth.
  • The company has a high return on equity of 45.17%, suggesting effective management and profitability relative to shareholder equity.
  • With a net margin of 27.85%, Paychex, Inc. demonstrates strong profitability, meaning it retains a good portion of revenue as profit.
  • The company offers a competitive dividend yield of 3.5%, providing investors with a steady income stream from their investment.

Paychex
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Paychex, Inc. for these reasons:

  • The debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15 indicates that the company has a relatively high level of debt compared to its equity, which could pose risks in economic downturns.
  • With a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of around 27.87, the stock may be considered overvalued compared to its earnings, which could deter value-focused investors.
  • The payout ratio is high at approximately 94.53%, suggesting that a large portion of earnings is distributed as dividends, leaving less for reinvestment in the business.
  • The price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 2.90 indicates that the stock may not be growing fast enough to justify its current valuation, which could be a concern for growth investors.
  • Market volatility, as indicated by a beta of 0.92, suggests that the stock may not be as stable as some investors prefer, potentially leading to fluctuations in investment value.

PAYX Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 15 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Paychex is $141.29, with a high forecast of $165.00 and a low forecast of $126.00.

15 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Paychex in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 sell ratings and 13 hold ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "reduce" PAYX shares.

According to analysts, Paychex's stock has a predicted upside of 12.07% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Analysts like Paychex less than other "computer and technology" companies. The consensus rating for Paychex is Reduce while the average consensus rating for "computer and technology" companies is Hold. Learn more on how PAYX compares to other companies.


This page (NASDAQ:PAYX) was last updated on 10/7/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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