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 $132.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $120.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.37. Paychex has a 1-year low of $106.55 and a 1-year high of $141.92. The stock has a market cap of $47.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.00.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 43.65% and a net margin of 30.20%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 10th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.29%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $138.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 30th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Paychex from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 30th. Finally, William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.23.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 4,184 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.34, for a total transaction of $474,214.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,860,583.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 4,184 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.34, for a total value of $474,214.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,860,583.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 3,875 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total value of $452,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,014,782.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,837 shares of company stock valued at $10,539,336 in the last ninety days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
