Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $186.00 to $200.00. The stock had previously closed at $149.60, but opened at $184.52. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Paylocity shares last traded at $173.43, with a volume of 588,506 shares.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Paylocity in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Paylocity from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paylocity from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Paylocity from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paylocity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.88.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 24,504 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total transaction of $4,299,716.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,587,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,383,899.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 24,504 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total transaction of $4,299,716.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,587,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,383,899.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 7,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $1,295,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,746,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,572,832.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,359 over the last three months. Company insiders own 22.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Paylocity by 195.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,280 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paylocity by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,144,262 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $753,012,000 after buying an additional 25,562 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 132.0% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 14,623 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 8,319 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,023,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,771 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 7,828 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.52.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.08. Paylocity had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 21.37%. The business had revenue of $326.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.34 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation provides cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers Payroll and Tax Services solution to simplifies payroll, automates processes, and manages compliance requirements within one system; and expense management, on demand payment, and garnishment solutions.