Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,890 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Paychex by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 69,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,743,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $124.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $44.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.90.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup started coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.87.

About Paychex

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.