Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $112.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $130.00 to $112.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 7.02% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 target price (down from $118.00) on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $104.66 on Thursday. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in Paychex during the second quarter worth $33,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 45.5% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 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: Paychex reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, above the $1.32–$1.33 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion, in line with expectations. Operating margin expanded to 38.0% from 35.2%. Paychex Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results
• Positive Sentiment: PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue rose 12% to $367.6 million, prompting Paychex to raise its full-year growth outlook for that segment to 7%–8%, from 6%–7%.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded PAYX from “underweight” to “neutral” and assigned a $115 price target, suggesting potential upside from the stock’s recent level. JPMorgan upgrades Paychex
• Positive Sentiment: The company introduced WISE Hire, an agentic AI recruiting product designed to automate candidate sourcing, matching and workflow management. The offering could support longer-term cross-selling and platform expansion. Paychex Introduces WISE Hire

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.