Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Given New $95.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective reduced by TD Cowen from $114.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $114.56.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $93.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $97.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.26. The company has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a twelve month low of $86.89 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $117,809,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat: PAYX reported EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $1.81B (+20% YoY), demonstrating demand and top-line momentum that supports recurring-service growth. Zacks: Paychex’s Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth catalysts: Management highlighted AI initiatives and the Paycor acquisition as drivers of advisory and PEO growth that could expand addressable market and services revenue over time. MSN: PAYX Q1 deep dive: AI initiatives and Paycor integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely kept neutral/hold ratings after the print — several firms reiterated balanced views citing solid fundamentals but ongoing macro and execution risks. That keeps near-term analyst guidance mixed rather than uniformly bullish. TipRanks: Solid fundamentals but macro and AI headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cuts and downgrades: Multiple major firms trimmed targets and/or ratings this morning — JPMorgan to $100 (underweight), Citigroup to $99 (neutral), Wells Fargo to $95 (underweight), TD Cowen to $95 (hold). Those moves increase downside/near-term selling pressure despite the beat. Benzinga: Analyst price-target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/cost concerns: Some coverage noted rising costs and margin pressure despite robust revenue growth — investors are attentive to whether operating leverage will recover. That commentary contributed to volatile trading after the report. Blockonomi: Cost pressures overshadow performance

Paychex Company Profile

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.