Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $125.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.83% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Argus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 target price on Paychex in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $121.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.40 on Thursday, hitting $92.04. The stock had a trading volume of 401,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,746,720. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.94. The stock has a market cap of $33.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a 52-week low of $86.89 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after buying an additional 355,294 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after buying an additional 263,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after buying an additional 78,760 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.