Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $193.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $234.00 to $221.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.22.

Paycom Software Trading Down 6.2 %

PAYC opened at $203.87 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $208.49 and its 200-day moving average is $197.28. Paycom Software has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $242.74. The company has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.15.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Paycom Software will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Paycom Software news, 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 value of $109,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of the 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 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. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paycom Software

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

About Paycom Software

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.