Research Analysts Set Expectations for Paychex, Inc.’s Q1 2025 Earnings (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Analysts at William Blair dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Paychex in a report released on Thursday, June 27th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.16 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.19. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.28 EPS.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $118.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.38 and its 200-day moving average is $121.95. Paychex has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 11,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Paychex by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 72,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803 shares during the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $284,000. Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 12,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 159.8% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 173,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,062,000 after purchasing an additional 106,997 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.