Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,322 shares of the software maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,974 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Paycom Software were worth $3,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its holdings in Paycom Software by 746.7% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 127 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Paycom Software by 635.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 206 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paycom Software during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paycom Software news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Richison sold 26,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.52, for a total transaction of $6,752,371.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,277,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,402,664.48. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,526 shares of company stock worth $37,450,796 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Paycom Software Stock Up 1.7%

PAYC stock opened at $260.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.52 and a 200 day moving average of $217.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $261.64.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $530.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Paycom Software Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $215.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a 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 company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $224.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Paycom Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.90.

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.