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

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

Insider Activity at Paycom Software

In other news, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYC. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Paycom Software by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,396,452 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $491,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388,533 shares during the last quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC lifted its stake in Paycom Software by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 3,215,085 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $658,996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,617 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Paycom Software by 1,153.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 401,889 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $82,375,000 after purchasing an additional 369,825 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Paycom Software during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,923,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Paycom Software in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,882,000. 87.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PAYC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their target price on Paycom Software from $229.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $234.00 to $221.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $193.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.22.

Paycom Software Trading Down 1.3 %

PAYC stock opened at $217.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.09. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.15. Paycom Software has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $242.74.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paycom Software will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.85%.

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.