Q3 2026 EPS Estimates for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Decreased by Zacks Research

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Paychex in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.44 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.46. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.71 per share.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 1.5 %

PAYX stock opened at $119.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.18.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,418,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,623,093,000 after purchasing an additional 487,031 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,520 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after purchasing an additional 927,584 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after purchasing an additional 62,739 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.