Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

14 Feb 2026, 03:56 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $94.21 and last traded at $94.69, with a volume of 2267126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Paychex

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 30,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,475,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,894 shares during the last quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $305,000. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, PCM Encore LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $602,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

(Get Free Report)

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.