---
title: Paychex (PAYX) — intrinsic value and fair price
canonical: https://sweetvaluelab.com/stocks/payx
ticker: PAYX
as_of: 2026-10-17
sector: Industrials
industry: Staffing & Employment Services
---
# Paychex (PAYX)

Paychex (PAYX) closed at $111.63 on Oct 16, 2026, overvalued by 10% vs its model value of $101.13 (from a five-year discounted cash flow).

## Key figures

| Figure | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Last close | $111.63 (Oct 16, 2026) |
| Model value (from a five-year discounted cash flow) | $101.13 |
| Price vs model | overvalued by 10% vs model |
| Range of that model | $66.90 – $206.42 |
| Market value | $39.7B |
| P/E (fiscal 2026) | 22.8 |
| Net margin (fiscal 2026) | 27.0% |
| Free cash flow (fiscal 2026) | $2.3B |
| Dividend yield (trailing twelve months) | 4.07% |
| Beta | 0.85 |
| Cost of capital (WACC) | 8.37% |
| Business classification | Dividend Payer (Moderate growth (~11% recent), High profitability (28% net margin), Strong dividend yield, Moderately volatile earnings, Strong FCF yield (5.8%)) |

## Dividends

| Figure | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Trailing dividend yield | 4.07% |
| Dividends per share, last 12 months | $4.54 |
| Dividends / free cash flow (fiscal 2026) | 68.5% |
| Raised | 15 years in a row |
| Growth over 5 years | 12.1% a year |
| Latest payment | $1.19, ex-date Jul 28, 2026, paid Aug 28, 2026 |

| Year of payments | Dividends per share |
| --- | ---: |
| To Jul 30, 2021 | $2.56 |
| To Aug 10, 2022 | $2.90 |
| To Aug 9, 2023 | $3.36 |
| To Aug 8, 2024 | $3.74 |
| To Jul 21, 2025 | $4.12 |
| Trailing twelve months (to Jul 28, 2026) | $4.54 |

## Valuation models

Each model's value per share and the role the engine gave it for this business. The headline above is one model's value; every other model is listed with its own, and each has a page of its own under the valuation. Computed Oct 17, 2026.

| Model | Role | Value per share | Low | High |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| DCF · Perpetuity growth · 5y | primary | $101.13 | $66.90 | $206.42 |
| DCF · Perpetuity growth · 10y | cross check | $108.78 | $74.01 | $213.78 |
| DCF · EBITDA exit · 5y | cross check | $107.41 | $73.02 | $147.95 |
| DCF · EBITDA exit · 10y | cross check | $113.91 | $78.59 | $161.08 |
| P/E · peers | cross check | $114.95 | $111.77 | $134.75 |
| P/E · own history | cross check | $156.58 | $144.14 | $170.92 |
| PEG | sanity check | $95.36 | $95.36 | $95.36 |
| EV/EBITDA · peers | cross check | $116.41 | $106.88 | $134.44 |
| EV/Revenue · peers | cross check | $49.80 | $40.40 | $76.44 |
| Earnings power value | cross check | $47.83 | $39.09 | $60.39 |
| Dividend discount | cross check | $97.47 | $67.62 | $156.89 |

## Insider activity (SEC Form 4)

Past 90 days: 0 open-market buys ($0) and 2 open-market sales ($1.1M); 10b5-1 plan sales included.

| Date | Insider | Relationship | Transaction | Shares | Value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| Oct 15, 2026 | JOSEPH PAMELA A | Director | Grant / award | 4,040 | $447,551.2 |
| Oct 15, 2026 | JOSEPH PAMELA A | Director | Grant / award | 970 | $0 |
| Oct 14, 2026 | VELLI JOSEPH M | Director | Open-market sell | 7,839 | $844,103.5 |
| Oct 15, 2026 | VELLI JOSEPH M | Director | Grant / award | 4,040 | $447,551.2 |
| Oct 15, 2026 | VELLI JOSEPH M | Director | Grant / award | 970 | $0 |

## Recent SEC filings

| Filed | Form | What | Filing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 8-K | 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Shareholder Vote | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000072353126000008/payx-20261015.htm |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 10-Q | Quarterly report | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000072353126000006/payx-20260831.htm |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 8-K | 2.02 Results of Operations (Earnings) | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000072353126000004/payx-20260923.htm |
| Sep 4, 2026 | ARS | Annual report to shareholders | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000119312526382815/d112171dars.pdf |
| Sep 4, 2026 | DEFA14A | Additional proxy materials | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000119312526382807/d112120ddefa14a.htm |

## Superinvestors holding it (latest 13F)

| Manager | Quarter | Shares | Value |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| Christopher Bloomstran | 2026-06-30 | 211,640 | $20.8M |
| Thomas Gayner | 2026-06-30 | 150,000 | $14.7M |

2 tracked managers in all.

## About

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, Paychex, Inc. delivers comprehensive human capital management (HCM) solutions. The company primarily serves small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the United States, Europe, and India, addressing their needs in human resources, payroll administration, employee benefits, and insurance. Its diverse service portfolio includes: Payroll Management: Encompassing core payroll processing, payroll tax administration, employee payment facilitation, and ensuring compliance with regulations like new-hire reporting and garnishment processing. Human Resources Solutions: Providing support for employer compliance, HR and employee benefits administration, risk management outsourcing, and even the availability of professionally trained on-site HR representatives. Retirement Services: Offering full administration for retirement plans, which…

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Source: https://sweetvaluelab.com/stocks/payx (SweetValueLab, free, no account). Prices and statements from Financial Modeling Prep; filings from SEC EDGAR. Research and educational data, not investment advice; nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security.