Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $233.25.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target (up from $212.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday. Citigroup upgraded Paylocity from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $214.00 to $231.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Paylocity from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 946 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.74, for a total transaction of $193,684.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,775.58. This trade represents a 34.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.14, for a total value of $520,364.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,332,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,667,635,928.58. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,380 shares of company stock worth $25,830,669. Insiders own 21.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PCTY. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Paylocity by 1,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 175 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Paylocity during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 121.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Paylocity by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 309 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Paylocity stock opened at $205.84 on Monday. Paylocity has a 12-month low of $129.94 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.95.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.93% and a net margin of 14.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paylocity will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation engages in the provision of cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers payroll software solution for global payroll, expense management, tax services, on demand payment, and garnishment managed services; and time and labor management software for time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection.