Q3 2026 Earnings Estimate for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Issued By Zacks Research

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Paychex in a report released on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.44 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.46. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.71 per share.

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $119.14 on Thursday. Paychex has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.20 and a 200-day moving average of $120.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. West Tower Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 112.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.