Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 2,031 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $2.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,606. The company's 50 day moving average is $151.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.85. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.