Paychex, Inc. Forecasted to Earn Q4 2024 Earnings of $1.10 Per Share (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Paychex in a research report issued on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.10 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.71 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.14 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.95 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $119.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $122.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. West Tower Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Paychex

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.