Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 13th

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 1.19 per share by the business services provider on Friday, May 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a 10.2% increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08.

Paychex has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Paychex has a dividend payout ratio of 84.0% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Analysts expect Paychex to earn $5.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.5%.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.