Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Paymentus Holdings, Inc. $PAY

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) by 83.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,278 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Paymentus worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Paymentus in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Paymentus by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paymentus in the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Orange County Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Paymentus in the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paymentus by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Paymentus Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PAY opened at $34.34 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.85. Paymentus Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.11 and a 52-week high of $39.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.25 and a beta of 1.28.

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $360.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.44 million. Paymentus had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 13.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paymentus Holdings, Inc. will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Paymentus

In other Paymentus news, Director Gary Trainor sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $1,324,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 629,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,861,890.56. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 55.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush raised their target price on Paymentus from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Paymentus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Paymentus from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Paymentus

Here are the key news stories impacting Paymentus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and earnings beat estimates. Paymentus reported revenue of approximately $360.7 million, up 28.8% year over year and above consensus estimates ranging from $345.4 million to $356.7 million. Quarterly EPS was $0.25, versus analyst expectations of $0.19-$0.20 and $0.11 a year earlier. Paymentus Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and cash flow improved sharply. Gross profit increased 32% to $94.3 million, operating profit more than doubled to $32.6 million, and net income attributable to common shareholders rose 73.8% to $25.6 million. Operating cash flow reached $48.9 million, while cash and equivalents increased 41.8% year over year to $377.7 million. Paymentus Holdings Q2 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management maintained a favorable growth narrative. CEO Dushyant Sharma said businesses are increasingly focused on smooth digital billing experiences to improve customer loyalty. The company described second-quarter revenue as a record and cited continued business momentum. Paymentus Revenue Surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward revenue guidance was broadly in line with expectations. Paymentus guided for third-quarter revenue of $353 million-$363 million, versus a $356.7 million consensus estimate, and full-year 2026 revenue of $1.4 billion-$1.5 billion, roughly matching the existing $1.4 billion consensus. The company did not provide a clearly stated EPS outlook in the available report.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling remains a potential overhang. Recent trading data showed three insider sales totaling 80,000 shares and no insider purchases during the past six months. Additionally, the stock’s valuation remains elevated, with a reported price-to-earnings ratio above 60, increasing sensitivity to future growth or execution disappointments.

About Paymentus

Paymentus is a U.S.-based financial technology company that specializes in cloud-native bill payment and presentment solutions. Its platform enables businesses and government entities to manage the entire payment lifecycle, from electronic bill presentment and real-time payment processing to reconciliation and reporting. Through web portals, mobile applications, interactive voice response (IVR) systems and in-person channels, Paymentus helps clients streamline accounts receivable operations, enhance customer engagement and reduce operational costs.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Paymentus has built a modular suite of services that can be tailored to the needs of various industries.