Paychex FY2026 EPS Estimate Increased by Zacks Research

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Paychex in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $5.50 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $5.48. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q1 2027 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.35 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.89 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.54 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $1.45 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $108.75.

Paychex Stock Down 2.3%

PAYX stock opened at $87.86 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex has a 1-year low of $86.84 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after buying an additional 355,294 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after buying an additional 263,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after buying an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several forward EPS estimates (FY2026 to $5.50 from $5.48; FY2027 to $5.89 from $5.86) and bump‑ups to Q1 2027 and Q1 2028 estimates, suggesting modestly better longer‑term earnings trajectory that could cap downside. (Zacks reports)
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party comparison piece places Paychex alongside unrelated names (Cellebrite) in a head‑to‑head analysis — not material to fundamentals but adds noise to coverage. Head-To-Head Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut several near‑term quarterly EPS forecasts (Q2 2027 to $1.35 from $1.37; Q2 2028 to $1.45 from $1.52), signaling slower near‑term growth and pressuring sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a “staying neutral” stance citing near‑term growth concerns — reinforces cautious view among investors. Seeking Alpha: Staying Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target from $95 to $94 and kept a Hold rating — a modest signal that upside is limited relative to prior expectations. MarketScreener: TD Cowen PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage aggregation shows a consensus tilt toward Reduce from some analysts, adding selling pressure and lower conviction among investors. Analyst Consensus: Reduce

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.