Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Price

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.11% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial raised Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $113.00 target price (down from $118.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.18.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $104.66 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $119.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.09. Paychex has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $130.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $37.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Paychex by 2,669.2% during 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. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 45.5% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Paychex

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

About Paychex

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.