How to buy Paychex stock (PAYX)

Paychex is a software - application business based in the US. Paychex shares (PAYX) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $139.54 – a decrease of 1.02% over the previous week. Paychex employs 16,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $5.3 billion.

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Paychex stock price (NASDAQ: PAYX)

Use our graph to track the performance of PAYX stocks over time.

Paychex shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2024-12-18.

Latest market close	$139.54
52-week range	$112.14 - $150.71
50-day moving average more info button	$142.67
200-day moving average more info button	$129.18
Wall St. target price	$136.07
PE ratio more info button	28.968
Dividend yield more info button	$3.74 (2.89%)
Earnings per share (TTM) more info button	$4.69

Is it a good time to buy Paychex stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Paychex price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $139.54 from 2024-12-20

1 week (2024-12-13)	-1.02%
1 month (2024-11-22)	-3.41%
3 months (2024-09-20)	4.71%
6 months (2024-06-21)	10.78%

1 year (2023-12-22)	16.42%
2 years (2022-12-22)	32.09%
3 years (2021-12-22)	13.94%
5 years (2019-12-20)	88.34%

Is Paychex stock undervalued or overvalued?

Valuing Paychex stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Paychex's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Paychex's P/E ratio

Paychex's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 29x. In other words, Paychex shares trade at around 29x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Paychex's PEG ratio

Paychex's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.2. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Paychex's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Paychex's EBITDA

Paychex's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $2.4 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Paychex's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Paychex financials

Revenue TTM	$5.3 billion
Operating margin TTM	41.46%
Gross profit TTM	$3.3 billion
Return on assets TTM	12.03%
Return on equity TTM	45.67%
Profit margin	31.98%
Book value	$10.70
Market Capitalization more info button	$48.9 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Paychex share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 80.45% of net profits

Recently Paychex has paid out, on average, around 100% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Paychex shareholders could enjoy a 0% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Paychex's case, that would currently equate to about $3.74 per share.

Paychex's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

Paychex's most recent dividend payout was on 26 November 2024. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 6 November 2024 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Paychex's shares ever split?

Paychex's shares were split on a 3:2 basis on 22 May 2000 . So if you had owned 2 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 3 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Paychex shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 33.3% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Paychex shares which in turn could have impacted Paychex's share price.

Paychex share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Paychex's shares have ranged in value from as little as $112.1427 up to $150.71. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Paychex's is 0.987. This would suggest that Paychex's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

Paychex overview

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. The company also provides HR solutions, including integrated HCM technology solutions and HR advisory services through both virtual and on-site availability of a professionally trained HR representative, as well as HR support to non-payroll clients through its HR Partner Plus solution; and retirement services administration, such as 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.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of Paychex is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 10.652% of Paychex shares are held by insiders and 80.496% by institutions. How many people work for Paychex?
Latest data suggests 16,000 work at Paychex. When does the fiscal year end for Paychex?
Paychex's fiscal year ends in May. Where is Paychex based?
Paychex's address is: 911 Panorama Trail South, Rochester, NY, United States, 14625-2396 What is Paychex's ISIN number?
Paychex's international securities identification number is: US7043261079 What is Paychex's CUSIP number?
Paychex's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 704326107