ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 371.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,671 shares during the quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple earnings estimates for Paychex (PAYX), including FY2027 and FY2029, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially supportive outlook for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Paychex was highlighted among the Nasdaq 100’s highest-yielding stocks, which may attract income-focused investors looking for defensive dividend names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest, so there is no clear evidence of a meaningful bearish positioning shift in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate article said Paychex (PAYX) could be as much as 38% below fair value after removal from the Russell Growth Index, suggesting the recent move may be partly tied to index-related repricing and raising valuation concerns. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.28 on Friday, hitting $107.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,179,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,609,491. 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 $38.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

About Paychex

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.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.