Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for Paychex Q3 Earnings

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Paychex in a research note issued on Monday, December 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.47 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.29 EPS.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $140.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.56 and its 200 day moving average is $133.73. Paychex has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.