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 reiterated by Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $130.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.97% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.82.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PAYX

Paychex Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.59. 4,440,770 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,516,695. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the period. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Rench Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 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: Q1 earnings exceeded expectations. Paychex reported adjusted EPS of $1.34, above the roughly $1.32–$1.33 consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion, broadly matching estimates. Operating margin expanded to 38.0% from 35.2%, and adjusted EPS increased about 10%. Paychex Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results
Positive Sentiment: PEO and Insurance Solutions remained a growth driver. Revenue in the segment increased 12% to $367.6 million, prompting Paychex to raise its fiscal 2027 segment growth outlook to 7%–8% from 6%–7%. The company also highlighted expanding artificial-intelligence capabilities, including its new WISE Hire recruiting solution. Paychex Introduces Agentic AI Recruiting Capabilities
Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see value after the selloff. JPMorgan upgraded Paychex to Neutral and lifted its target to $115, while RBC maintained Sector Perform with a $130 target. Several other firms retained neutral or hold ratings, with targets generally above the recent trading level.
Neutral Sentiment: Management maintained its broad fiscal outlook. Fiscal 2027 revenue growth guidance remains 5%–6%, with adjusted EPS growth of 7%–9% and EPS guidance of $5.896–$6.006. Second-quarter revenue guidance of approximately $1.6 billion was in line with expectations. Paychex Reaffirms Fiscal 2027 Guidance
Negative Sentiment: The core business underwhelmed investors. Management Solutions, Paychex’s largest segment, grew only 4% to about $1.2 billion—below the pace implied by its 5%–6% full-year target. Investors appeared to want stronger evidence that integrations, cross-selling and AI investments would accelerate growth.
Negative Sentiment: Profit-quality and cash-flow concerns added pressure. Articles noted weaker GAAP-to-adjusted earnings comparisons and operating cash flow of $413.5 million versus $424.1 million of dividends paid during the quarter, raising questions about dividend coverage. Multiple analysts consequently lowered price targets, including Stephens to $113, Stifel to $112, Jefferies to $110 and UBS to $115. Paychex Plunges After Earnings

Paychex Company Profile

(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.