Northern Trust Corp Buys 16,369 Shares of Paycom Software, Inc. $PAYC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Paycom Software by 2.3% during the first quarter, acquiring 16,369 additional shares to reach a total of 740,385 shares valued at approximately $161.76 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Paycom, with Baillie Gifford & Co. raising its holdings by a remarkable 1,918.4% during the same period.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Paycom Software, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its target from $215 to $235 and BMO Capital Markets raising it from $244 to $258, reflecting positive sentiment on the stock.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 740,385 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,369 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.28% of Paycom Software worth $161,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Paycom Software by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 240 shares of the software maker's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 278.5% in the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 7,934 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 5,838 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paycom Software during the first quarter worth $135,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Paycom Software by 108.7% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,400 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paycom Software in the first quarter valued at about $420,000. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paycom Software news, insider Bradley Scott Smith sold 1,500 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total value of $374,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,807,160.68. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 23,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.20, for a total value of $6,152,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,224,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $855,017,794.80. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,590 shares of company stock valued at $6,761,837. Insiders own 10.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYC shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $187.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $244.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paycom Software currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.36.

Paycom Software Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:PAYC traded down $1.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $226.30. The stock had a trading volume of 172,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,370. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.57. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.08 and a 52 week high of $267.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $483.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.00 million. Paycom Software had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 25.40%. Paycom Software's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Paycom Software's payout ratio is presently 20.30%.

Paycom Software Profile

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.