Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $998,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 19.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $212,267,000 after purchasing an additional 113,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.76 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Paychex 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.