Paychex, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.08 (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 9th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.08 per share by the business services provider on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%.

Paychex has a dividend payout ratio of 76.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Paychex to earn $5.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 81.4%.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $145.94. 2,514,430 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,976,485. The stock has a market cap of $52.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.13. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $3,333,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

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.

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