Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $172.00 to $196.00. The stock had previously closed at $172.25, but opened at $189.68. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Paycom Software shares last traded at $210.37, with a volume of 315,446 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $160.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paycom Software from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Paycom Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paycom Software presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paycom Software news, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 1,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.43, for a total value of $336,238.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,750,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,339,411.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paycom Software news, CFO Craig E. Boelte sold 11,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.98, for a total transaction of $1,853,354.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 294,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,990,547.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 1,950 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.43, for a total transaction of $336,238.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,750,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,339,411.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,906 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,540. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Paycom Software by 3.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,035 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Paycom Software during the first quarter worth $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Paycom Software Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $167.57 and its 200 day moving average is $163.35. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The software maker reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $437.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.19 million. Paycom Software had a return on equity of 33.34% and a net margin of 25.78%. Analysts predict that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.05%.

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.