Zacks Research Has Bearish Outlook for Paychex Q3 Earnings

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for Paychex in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.47 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.29 EPS.

PAYX has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.50 on Wednesday. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $49.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,918,000 after buying an additional 13,702 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,055,000 after acquiring an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Paychex by 21.1% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 9,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 62,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.