Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) Position Reduced by Aurora Investment Counsel

Aurora Investment Counsel cut its position in shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,546 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 1,357 shares during the period. Paycom Software accounts for 1.5% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Paycom Software were worth $2,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Paycom Software in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Paycom Software by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 182 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Paycom Software by 635.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 206 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 821.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 212 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Paycom Software by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 352 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Randall Peck sold 3,600 shares of Paycom Software stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.19, for a total transaction of $763,884.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,750,606.35. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.22, for a total value of $109,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,840.60. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $234.00 to $221.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paycom Software from $193.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paycom Software in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Paycom Software from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.80.

Paycom Software Stock Performance

Shares of PAYC opened at $202.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.97. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $242.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.14.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Paycom Software’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.85%.

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.