Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Lowered to $99.00 at Citigroup

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $120.00 to $99.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

PAYX has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $114.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $114.56.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2%

PAYX stock opened at $93.59 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.04 and a 200 day moving average of $111.26. The firm 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

More Paychex News

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.