FY2025 Earnings Estimate for Paychex Issued By William Blair

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Investment analysts at William Blair increased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Paychex in a report released on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $5.00 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.99. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $139.54 on Monday. Paychex has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,055,000 after buying an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 21.1% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 9,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 62,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,370,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.