Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Citizens Jmp raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $180.00. Citizens Jmp currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Paylocity traded as high as $171.53 and last traded at $170.06, with a volume of 696,298 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $166.17.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on PCTY. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on Paylocity in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Paylocity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Paylocity from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Paylocity from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paylocity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, Chairman Steven Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total value of $2,478,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,243,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $205,432,730.58. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 10,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.26, for a total value of $1,736,585.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,414,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,997,332.56. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,853 shares of company stock valued at $16,384,406. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP raised its Paylocity price target from $150 to $180 and maintained a “market outperform” rating, implying further upside from recent trading levels. Paylocity price target raised by Citizens JMP
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity’s latest quarterly results showed solid execution: adjusted earnings of $1.84 per share exceeded the $1.62 consensus estimate, revenue reached $444.73 million versus expectations of $431.46 million, and revenue increased 11% year over year. Analysts broadly maintain a favorable view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high at approximately 94.8%. Several investment firms initiated positions or increased their holdings during the third quarter, although the individual transactions were relatively small and do not necessarily indicate a major change in sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 10,445 shares for approximately $1.74 million on October 19, following a sale of 5,500 shares worth about $913,000 on October 16. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the combined sales reduced his ownership by only about 0.36%; however, insider selling can create modest near-term pressure, particularly with the stock trading near its 52-week high. Steven Sarowitz insider transactions

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCTY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Paylocity during the 2nd quarter valued at $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth $70,540,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 663,449 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,350,000 after purchasing an additional 57,291 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 616,407 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $66,597,000 after purchasing an additional 93,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth $54,906,000. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.26. The company has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The business had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll software for organizations. Its platform is designed to help employers manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce administration through an integrated system.

The company also offers tools for time and labor management, scheduling, employee communications, engagement, surveys, expense management, and other workplace activities.