Kennedy Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,705 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Paycom Software by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 22,389 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,499,000. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in shares of Paycom Software by 523.9% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 27,500 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,443,000 after acquiring an additional 23,092 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Paycom Software by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 23,401 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 17,457 shares in the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYC. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $234.00 to $221.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Paycom Software from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $212.80.

Paycom Software Price Performance

Shares of PAYC traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $216.92. 403,689 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 718,354. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $213.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.77. Paycom Software, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.50 and a twelve month high of $242.74.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The software maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Paycom Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 16.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paycom Software

In other Paycom Software news, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,750,606.35. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley Scott Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.01, for a total transaction of $603,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,775,620.33. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,024. 10.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.