Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,265 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,154,000. Paycom Software accounts for 2.6% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth $479,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth $340,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 7,767 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 21,890 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth $147,000. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paycom Software from $187.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Paycom Software from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Paycom Software from $215.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paycom Software in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.90.

Insider Activity at Paycom Software

In other news, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 26,426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.52, for a total value of $6,752,371.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,277,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $837,402,664.48. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.19, for a total value of $763,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,750,606.35. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,526 shares of company stock valued at $37,450,796 over the last three months. 10.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paycom Software Price Performance

Shares of PAYC stock traded up $4.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $261.32. 529,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,685. The business's fifty day moving average is $225.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.09. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $262.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.18. Paycom Software had a net margin of 26.66% and a return on equity of 33.53%. The firm had revenue of $530.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Paycom Software's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

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.