JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target to $125.00

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $140.00 to $125.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Stephens raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $114.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.87. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $108.00 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $41.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.91. 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 earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Martin Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 166.9% in the second quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,965 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 53,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after buying an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,820,000 after buying an additional 249,550 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,202,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 31.8% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 846,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,097,000 after buying an additional 204,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat argues Paychex is “out of favor” and presents a value opportunity: support near ~$110, a 3.8% dividend yield, 17% quarterly revenue growth noted in recent results, AI product rollouts as a medium-term growth catalyst, and potential upside if sentiment stabilizes. Paychex Is Out of Favor—And That’s the Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Hold on PAYX, signaling no near-term upgrade from a major broker. Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Paychex (PAYX)
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus also maintained a Hold on the stock, adding to the chorus of neutral analyst stances that limit upward catalyst from the sell-side. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Their Hold Rating for Paychex (PAYX)
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup and other coverage pieces classify PAYX as neutral/conflicted among analysts — reinforcing that consensus sentiment is cautious rather than bullish. Citigroup maintains Paychex (PAYX) neutral recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data posted for December appears to show zero reported short interest (with a NaN increase), which reads as a data anomaly rather than a credible signal — monitor updated filings for a real read on short demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Media attention from Jim Cramer highlighted that “Paychex tends to sell off on earnings,” a narrative that can amplify volatility around quarterly reports and weigh on investor sentiment. Jim Cramer Notes “Paychex Tends to Sell off on Earnings”
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged PAYX underperforming peers on a recent session despite daily gains, underscoring that relative-performance pressure and analyst downgrades have been a drag this quarter. Paychex Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

About Paychex

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.