Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 35,407 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 122.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,413 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,407 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37.

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Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 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 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.

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.

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