Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Sep 24th, 2026

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $130.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 27.97% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.82.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Paychex

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $101.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,443,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,516,708. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. Paychex has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $130.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $119.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.09.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

Positive Sentiment: Paychex reported adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, above the roughly $1.32–$1.33 consensus, while revenue increased 5.9% to $1.63 billion, in line with expectations. Operating margin expanded to 38.0% from 35.2% a year earlier. Paychex Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results
Positive Sentiment: PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue grew 12% to $367.6 million, prompting Paychex to raise that segment’s fiscal 2027 growth outlook to 7%–8% from 6%–7%. Management also cited faster PEO conversions and increased adoption of artificial intelligence. Paychex Q1 Earnings Call Puts PEO Mix Shift and AI in Focus
Positive Sentiment: The company launched WISE Hire, an agentic AI recruiting solution designed to automate candidate sourcing, matching and workflow tasks while keeping hiring decisions with customers. Paychex Introduces Agentic AI Recruiting Capabilities Through WISE Hire
Neutral Sentiment: Paychex maintained fiscal 2027 guidance for total revenue growth of 5%–6% and adjusted EPS growth of 7%–9%, with fiscal-year EPS projected at $5.896–$6.006. Analysts responded by lowering several price targets, although JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral and RBC reaffirmed its sector-perform rating with a $130 target. Analysts Revise Paychex Forecasts
Negative Sentiment: Management Solutions, Paychex’s largest segment, grew only 4% to approximately $1.2 billion, described as slightly below expectations. Investors viewed the result and unchanged companywide outlook as insufficient evidence that growth is accelerating. Paychex Key Segment Was Slightly Below Expectations
Negative Sentiment: Investors also raised concerns about the quality of earnings: GAAP results and free cash flow were weaker than adjusted profit, while dividends paid during the quarter exceeded operating cash flow. This has increased scrutiny of dividend coverage, although the company continues to generate substantial cash. Why Paychex Stock Dropped

About Paychex

(Get Free Report)

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.