Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $9.56 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,697 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,304 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 31.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1,086.7% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,314 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.5%

PAYX stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.46. The company has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.02 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Profile

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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