Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,137 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,031 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 7.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 76.7% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of PAYX traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,849,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,606. The stock has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $151.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.11.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.