Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after Argus lowered their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $130.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Paychex traded as low as $107.80 and last traded at $108.58, with a volume of 317778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.60.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 1.6%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.84 and its 200-day moving average is $128.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

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.