Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Lowered to $126.00 at TD Cowen

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target reduced by analysts at TD Cowen from $140.00 to $126.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 2.09% from the stock’s previous close.

PAYX has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $142.83.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $123.42 on Wednesday. Paychex has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $136.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.