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

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management purchased 74,195 Paychex shares worth approximately $7.3 million, while institutional investors collectively own 83.47% of the company.
• Paychex exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.32 and revenue of $1.61 billion, up 12.5% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $109.20.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.19, equivalent to $4.76 annually and a 3.9% yield, although its payout ratio is high at 97.34%.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) 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 - Get Free Report) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source