Paychex Inc. (PAYX) stock price, quote and key numbers
Updated 28 September 2026, 09:52 ET
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) closed at $101.37 on 25 September 2026, down 0.2%. That leaves it down 12.7% over a week, down 18.8% over a month and down 21.0% over a year. That is 35% of the way up its 52 week range of $85.45 to $130.32. The median analyst price target of $114 sits 12.5% above the close.
The price
Changes compare dividend and split adjusted closes over trading sessions, so the one year figure is the last close against the close 252 sessions earlier. The 52 week range uses the daily highs and lows of the same window. Read the guide: How to read a stock quote.
The live price, the day's chart and the pre market and after hours prints are in the app: open PAYX in Just Stock Quotes.
Trend and range
PAYX trades below both its 50 day average of $118.37 and its 200 day average of $104.18, the shape of a downtrend. The 50 day average sits above the 200 day average. Its beta against the S&P 500 over the last year is 0.02, a stock that barely follows the market. It is 22.2% below its 52 week high and 18.6% above its 52 week low.
Moving averages smooth the closes of the last 50 and 200 sessions; being above or below them describes the trend, it does not predict it. Beta is how much the stock moved for each move in the S&P 500 over the year. Read the guide: Moving averages, the 52 week range and beta.
What analysts say
In the last 90 days 13 firms recorded 16 actions on PAYX: 14 kept a view and 2 upgrades. Price targets: 9 raised and 5 lowered. The most recent targets from 12 firms run from $96 to $150, with a median of $114, 12.5% above the last close.
| Date | Firm | Action | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | Baird | Maintains Neutral | $125.00 to $110.00 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | Cantor Fitzgerald | Maintains Underweight | $112.00 to $96.00 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | UBS | Maintains Neutral | $125.00 to $115.00 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | BMO Capital | Maintains Market Perform | $118.00 to $113.00 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | Stifel | Maintains Hold | $130.00 to $112.00 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | RBC Capital | Reiterates Sector Perform | $130.00 |
A target is one firm's guess at the price a year out, and the average runs optimistic. The useful reading is the mood: high targets and a wall of buys mean high expectations. Read the guide: What analyst ratings and price targets tell you.
Earnings
The next report is on the calendar for 18 December 2026 for Q2 2027, with earnings per share expected at $1.31. The last report, on 23 September 2026 for Q1 2027, showed EPS of $1.34 against $1.32 expected, a beat of 1.5%, on revenue of $1.6 billion. Paychex Inc. beat the EPS estimate in 7 of its last 7 reported quarters.
Set a percent move alert before the report and the app pings you when the stock reacts, even after hours: open PAYX in Just Stock Quotes.
The numbers
Over the trailing twelve months Paychex Inc. shows revenue growth of 13.97%, a gross margin of 74.39%, an operating margin of 39.19% and a return on equity of 47.05%.
| Measure | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth, TTM | 14.0% | 69th |
| Net income growth, TTM | 11.9% | 51st |
| Gross margin | 74.4% | 86th |
| Operating margin | 39.2% | 93rd |
| Free cash flow margin | 30.5% | 91st |
| Return on equity | 47.1% | 95th |
| Return on assets | 11.2% | 92nd |
| Debt to equity | 1.23 | 81st |
| Current ratio | 1.28 | 53rd |
| Effective tax rate | 24.1% | 79th |
The percentile ranks the company against every US company the data covers; a high percentile means most companies score lower.
Margins say how much of each dollar of sales becomes profit, returns say how hard the balance sheet works, and debt to equity says how much of it is borrowed. The valuation ratios, price to earnings and the rest, are in the app on the stock page. Read the guide: The valuation ratios on a stock page.
About Paychex Inc.
- Exchange
- Nasdaq
- Sector
- Industrials
- Industry
- Business Services
- Headquarters
- ROCHESTER, New York
- Chief executive
- John B. Gibson
- Employees
- 16,000
- Website
- paychex.com
Paychex, Inc. provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States and Europe. The company markets and sells its services primarily through its direct sales force.
In the same sector
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CAT Caterpillar Inc.GE General Electric Co.GEV GE Vernova Inc.RTX RTX Corp.DE Deere & Co.ETN Eaton Corp. plcUNP Union Pacific Corp.BA Boeing Co.
Learn
- How to read a stock quote
- Reading a price chart from one day to one year
- Moving averages, the 52 week range and beta
- What analyst ratings and price targets tell you
- The valuation ratios on a stock page
- Price alerts, targets and percent moves
Add PAYX to your watchlist, set a price alert, watch the live chart and ask FundSpec AI about it. No account, no subscription. The same screen is in the iPhone, iPad and Android apps.
Open PAYX in Just Stock Quotes