Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock: Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Cuts Holdings

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Paychex by 6.3% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% during the second quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total value of $844,103.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 81,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $115.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $127.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.95. The firm has a market cap of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.44%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc. provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions to businesses of varying sizes. Its services include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tools, HR support, employee benefits, retirement services and business insurance. The company also offers professional employer organization services, which let businesses outsource certain employment responsibilities, as well as technology for workforce management, recruiting and compliance. Paychex primarily serves employers in the United States and supports businesses with international workforce needs.