FY2025 EPS Estimates for Paychex Increased by William Blair

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for Paychex in a note issued to investors on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $5.00 per share for the year, up from their prior 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.

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $139.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.70. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

About Paychex

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.