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

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Paycom Software from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 $215.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $226.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paycom Software

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.22, for a total transaction of $109,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,686,840.60. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.52, for a total transaction of $29,222,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,307,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $805,381,276.48. This trade represents a 3.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 149,926 shares of company stock worth $36,686,912 in the last quarter. 10.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paycom Software Stock Performance

Paycom Software stock traded down $3.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $257.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 412,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,818. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $227.45 and its 200 day moving average is $219.71. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $262.80.

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

Paycom Software Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Paycom Software's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

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.