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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “PAYX”. Dividends have historically been paid on our common stock in August, November, February, and May. The level and continuation of future dividends are dependent on our future earnings and cash flows and are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors (the “Board”).

As of June 30, 2021, there were 10,611 holders of record of our common stock, which includes registered holders and participants in the Paychex, Inc. Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan. There were also 3,733 participants in the Paychex, Inc. Qualified Employee Stock Purchase Plan and 4,177 participants in the Paychex, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

In May 2019, our Board approved a program to repurchase up to $400.0 million of our common stock with authorization expiring in May 2022. All shares repurchased during fiscal 2021 were retired and were as follows:

In millions, except per share amountTotal‎number‎of shares‎purchasedAverage price paid per shareTotal dollarsApproximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the program
First quarter0.4$74.70$28.8$199.3
Second quarter—$——$199.3
Third quarter0.5$90.3847.2$152.1
March 1 to March 31, 2021—$——$152.1
April 1 to April 30, 2021—$——$152.1
May 1 to May 31, 20210.8$98.8379.7$72.4
Fiscal year1.7$90.83$155.7

In July 2021, our Board authorized an additional program allowing us to repurchase up to $400.0 million of our common stock which expires on January 31, 2024.

The following graph shows a five-year comparison of the total cumulative returns of investing $100 on May 31, 2016, in Paychex common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and two Peer Group Indexes. All comparisons of stock price performance shown assume reinvestment of dividends. We are a participant in the S&P 500 Index, a market group of companies with a larger than average market capitalization. Our Peer Group is a group of companies with comparable revenue and net income, who are in a comparable industry, or who are direct competitors of Paychex (as detailed below).

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May 31,201620172018201920202021
Paychex$100.00$112.73$128.98$174.18$151.49$218.39
S&P 500$100.00$117.47$134.36$139.45$157.35$220.79
Peer Group - old$100.00$118.33$150.41$176.65$194.66$254.29
Peer Group - new$100.00$116.29$145.72$169.82$190.66$246.04

There can be no assurance that our stock performance will continue with the same or similar trends depicted in the graph above. We neither make nor endorse any predictions as to future stock performance.

The Governance & Compensation Committee of our Board annually reviews and approves the selection of Peer Group companies, adjusting the group from year to year based upon our business and changes in the Peer Group companies’ business or the comparability of their metrics. The Peer Group may also be adjusted in the event of mergers, acquisitions, or other significant economic changes. The Peer Group was adjusted for fiscal 2021. The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation, Total Systems Services, Inc. and Worldpay, Inc. were removed and replaced with FleetCor Technologies, Inc., Sabre Corporation, TransUnion and Verisk Analytics, Inc., as they are more closely aligned with the Paychex business. Both the old and new peer groups are presented for this year of transition.

Our new Peer Group for fiscal 2021 is comprised of the following companies:

Alliance Data Systems CorporationIHS Markit, Ltd.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (direct competitor)Intuit Inc.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.Moody’s Corporation
Equifax, Inc.Sabre Corporation
Fiserv, Inc.TransUnion
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.Verisk Analytics, Inc.
Global Payments Inc.The Western Union Company
H&R Block, Inc.

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