Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the January 31st total of 2,130,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 563,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Paycom Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAYC opened at $217.32 on Wednesday. Paycom Software has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $242.74. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $208.43 and a 200-day moving average of $197.09.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.03. Paycom Software had a return on equity of 33.53% and a net margin of 26.66%. Research analysts expect that Paycom Software will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paycom Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paycom Software news, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.19, for a total value of $763,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,750,606.35. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.22, for a total value of $109,110.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,686,840.60. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paycom Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sylebra Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 3,215,085 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $658,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,617 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Paycom Software by 137.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,396,452 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $491,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388,533 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Paycom Software by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,768 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $310,245,000 after purchasing an additional 89,848 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Paycom Software by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 724,016 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $148,402,000 after purchasing an additional 70,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 627,510 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $104,524,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Paycom Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $229.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Paycom Software from $234.00 to $221.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Paycom Software from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.22.

Paycom Software Company Profile

Paycom Software, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solution delivered as software-as-a-service for small to mid-sized companies in the United States. It offers functionality and data analytics that businesses need to manage the employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement.