Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, American National Bank boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.96. The firm has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Paychex Company 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.