What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for Paychex Q2 Earnings?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Paychex in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.13 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.15. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.96 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Paychex has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.36 and a 200-day moving average of $126.15.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock worth $11,698,870. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $774,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 4.9% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.