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

Shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC - Get Free Report) 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 trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PAYC. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Paycom Software from $160.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Paycom Software from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paycom Software from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Paycom Software from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Paycom Software from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.92.

Insider Transactions at Paycom Software

In other news, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 1,950 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.71, for a total transaction of $319,234.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,990,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,584,250.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 1,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.71, for a total value of $319,234.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,990,558 shares in the company, valued at $489,584,250.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Craig E. Boelte sold 11,882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 294,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,990,547.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,906 shares of company stock valued at $11,714,536 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paycom Software

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYC. Sylebra Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Paycom Software by 53.9% in the second quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 1,957,468 shares of the software maker's stock worth $279,996,000 after buying an additional 685,190 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in shares of Paycom Software by 9.4% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,069,104 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $152,925,000 after purchasing an additional 92,049 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Paycom Software by 14.5% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 626,646 shares of the software maker's stock worth $124,709,000 after purchasing an additional 79,299 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Paycom Software by 1,011.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 581,964 shares of the software maker's stock worth $83,244,000 after purchasing an additional 529,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Paycom Software by 6.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 455,271 shares of the software maker's stock worth $65,122,000 after purchasing an additional 26,934 shares in the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paycom Software Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.91. The firm has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.17.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $437.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.19 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Paycom Software's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.