Paychex, Inc. provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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. The company also provides HR solutions, including payroll, employer compliance, HR and employee benefits administration, risk management outsourcing, and the on-site availability of a professionally trained HR representative; and retirement services administration, including plan implementation, ongoing compliance with government regulations, employee and employer reporting, participant and employer online access, electronic funds transfer, and other administrative services. In addition, it offers cloud-based HR administration software products for employee benefits management and administration, time and attendance, digital communication solutions, recruiting, and onboarding solutions; plan administration outsourcing and state unemployment insurance services; various business services to small to medium-sized businesses comprising payroll funding and outsourcing services, which include payroll processing, invoicing, and tax preparation; and payment processing services, financial fitness programs, and a small-business loan resource center. Further, the company provides insurance services for property and casualty coverage, such as workers' compensation, business-owner policies, cyber security protection, and commercial auto, as well as health and benefits coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life. It markets and sells its services primarily through its direct sales force. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.
Paychex Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.62 on Thursday. Paychex has a twelve month low of $106.55 and a twelve month high of $141.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.09. The company has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.00.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 43.65% and a net margin of 30.20%. Paychex's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.
Paychex Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 10th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 82.29%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, May 23rd. Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 30th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, June 29th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Paychex from $138.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.75.
Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex
In related news, insider Stephanie L. Schaeffer sold 1,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total value of $190,500.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 66,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,747,811.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 4,184 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.34, for a total transaction of $474,214.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,531 shares in the company, valued at $6,860,583.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie L. Schaeffer sold 1,631 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total transaction of $190,500.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 66,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,747,811.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,837 shares of company stock worth $10,539,336 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.
