Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 74,195 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 74,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,296,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $122.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $141.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Profile

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.