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

Shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) gapped up prior to trading 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.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PAYC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Paycom Software from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Paycom Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paycom Software news, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 1,950 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,750,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,339,411.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradley Scott Smith sold 1,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.62, for a total transaction of $240,212.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,327,889.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $172.43, for a total value of $336,238.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,750,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,339,411.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,906 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,540. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paycom Software during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paycom Software in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Paycom Software in the second quarter worth about $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paycom Software during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Paycom Software during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paycom Software Trading Up 21.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.23.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The software maker reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.07. Paycom Software had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $437.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.19 million. Research analysts anticipate that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Paycom Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.07%.

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.