** Stifel cuts stock rating for Paycor HCM PYCR.O to "hold" from "buy", trims PT to $22.50 from $25

** "While we continue to expect a muted public M&A environment surrounding human capital management products due to the limited number of available targets, we anticipate the broader software M&A market will remain active across both strategic and financial acquirers," says Stifel

** BMO Capital Markets also cuts stock rating for PYCR to "market perform" from "outperform", trims PT to $22.50 from $24

** Paychex PAYX.O said on Tuesday it will acquire payroll processing firm PYCR for about $4.1 billion in cash, as the HR management firm looks to broaden its artificial intelligence capabilities and consolidate its market share

** PYCR was down 14% in 2024

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy)

((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com))