Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Barclays

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $162.00 to $176.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the software maker’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Paylocity from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Paylocity from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on Paylocity in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.47.

Paylocity Stock Up 4.7%

Paylocity stock traded up $7.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.55. 251,236 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 767,869. Paylocity has a 1-year low of $92.99 and a 1-year high of $178.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.16. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%. The company had revenue of $451.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paylocity will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In other news, Chairman Steven R. Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total value of $2,478,300.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven Sarowitz sold 8,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.31, for a total value of $1,524,659.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,354,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $746,032,608.39. This represents a 0.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 151,704 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,741 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCTY. R Squared Ltd increased its position in Paylocity by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 3,594 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 42.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,897 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 88.6% in the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,387 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 86.8% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,342 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 6.4% in the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 15,178 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For fiscal Q1 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, ahead of the $1.93 consensus estimate, and revenue of $451.7 million versus $443.1 million expected. Revenue grew 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12% to $424.5 million. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations, adding to the positive earnings report. Paylocity’s Q3 CY2026 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets while maintaining Buy ratings: Truist increased its target to $200 from $165, and BTIG raised its target to $210 from $200. The revisions signal improved analyst expectations for the shares. Truist raises Paylocity price target
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter and reported $850.2 million in cumulative repurchases since May 2024, supporting shareholder returns. It also completed its acquisition of Aidora, expanding its AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Paylocity first-quarter financial results

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.