Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 27.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,223 shares of company stock worth $10,592,156. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $141.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $144.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $134.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.60. The company has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.