California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 84,310 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,055 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Paycom Software were worth $17,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYC. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 1,153.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 401,889 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $82,375,000 after purchasing an additional 369,825 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Paycom Software during the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Paycom Software by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 10,839 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,222,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Paycom Software by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,821 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,549 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Paycom Software Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PAYC opened at $198.22 on Friday. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $242.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $212.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.93. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.97.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last posted 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 return on equity of 33.53% and a net margin of 26.66%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Paycom Software’s payout ratio is 16.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Paycom Software from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Paycom Software from $229.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paycom Software from $193.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paycom Software presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.80.

Insider Activity at Paycom Software

In other Paycom Software news, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,665 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,606.35. This represents a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley Scott Smith sold 3,000 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.01, for a total value of $603,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,733 shares in the company, valued at $5,775,620.33. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,024 over the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.