Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex updated its FY25 guidance to $4.96-5.05 EPS.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.91 and a 200-day moving average of $142.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Paychex stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.