Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex updated its FY 2026 guidance to EPS.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $152.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.82. Paychex has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $54.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $3,333,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 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.