Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) Trading 5.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)’s stock price shot up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $219.45 and last traded at $218.72. 140,335 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 698,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYC. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Paycom Software from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Paycom Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $215.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paycom Software presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.80.

Paycom Software Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.53.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.03. Paycom Software had a net margin of 26.66% and a return on equity of 33.53%. On average, research analysts forecast that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given 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 yield of 0.69%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paycom Software

In other Paycom Software news, insider Bradley Scott Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.01, for a total transaction of $603,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,775,620.33. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.22, for a total transaction of $109,110.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,686,840.60. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,024. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paycom Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYC. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Paycom Software by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,378 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Paycom Software by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,522 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paycom Software by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 70,940 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $11,816,000 after purchasing an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 71.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,497 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 1,042.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,045 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $8,003,000 after acquiring an additional 43,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

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.