Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Paycom Software from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paycom Software from $193.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $215.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.22.

Paycom Software Stock Performance

Shares of PAYC opened at $203.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.28. Paycom Software has a one year low of $139.50 and a one year high of $242.74. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.15.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.03. Paycom Software had a return on equity of 33.53% and a net margin of 26.66%. Analysts predict that Paycom Software will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.19, for a total transaction of $763,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,665 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,606.35. This represents a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paycom Software

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

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.