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

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 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 stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in Paychex by 2,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.02 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $141.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $108.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.38. The firm has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Company 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.