Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Director Steven Sarowitz Sells 100 Shares of Company Stock

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) Director Steven Sarowitz sold 100 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.23, for a total transaction of $17,023.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,354,769 shares in the company, valued at $741,312,326.87. This trade represents a 0.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of PCTY opened at $168.40 on Friday. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.99 and a 12 month high of $178.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target on Paylocity from $178 to $190 and maintained an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in continued appreciation. KeyCorp analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Other analyst targets also remain supportive. Guggenheim raised its target to $200 with a “buy” rating, while BTIG Research reportedly forecast a $200 target and retained its buy recommendation. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with most covering analysts assigning buy ratings.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning for Paylocity’s upcoming earnings report. A Zacks analysis says the company has factors that could support an earnings beat, building on its latest quarter, when EPS of $1.84 exceeded the $1.62 consensus and revenue increased 11% year over year. Zacks earnings expectations article
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high at approximately 94.8%, and major investors including BlackRock, Amundi, Van Berkom & Associates, and Deutsche Bank have recently established or expanded positions. This supports institutional interest but does not guarantee near-term buying.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven Sarowitz continued selling shares, including 8,900 shares for about $1.5 million on October 27 and 100 shares on October 28. The transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and the director still owns more than 4.35 million shares, so the ownership reduction is minimal. Nevertheless, the repeated sales could weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: Paylocity trades at roughly 34 times earnings, while some analysts have cautioned that the company needs more aggressive monetization to justify its growth expectations.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PCTY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Paylocity from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 price target on Paylocity in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Paylocity from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.82.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Paylocity by 18.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 49,614 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,891 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at $54,906,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 181.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 32,688 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 21,083 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at about $20,119,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth about $430,315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Company Profile

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.