Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Holdings Reduced by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 72.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 48,321 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Paychex by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,650,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,280,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,908,000 after purchasing an additional 17,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 1.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,979,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,900,000 after purchasing an additional 30,117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $93.93 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 95.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

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.