Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Cut to $95.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $116.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Paychex from $114.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $114.56.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $93.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a 52-week low of $86.89 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.26.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $344,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 7.6% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 44,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,432,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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

About Paychex

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.