Man Group plc Takes $8.12 Million Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 77,715 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,124,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PCTY. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Paylocity by 5.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 136,388 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Paylocity by 24.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,365 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paylocity by 537.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 2,782.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,688 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after buying an additional 34,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 10.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,241 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher long-term earnings forecasts: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $6.33 from $5.98 and its FY2028 forecast to $7.18 from $6.67. It also initiated a FY2029 estimate of $8.28 and increased several quarterly forecasts, signaling improved expectations for Paylocity’s earnings trajectory. Zacks nevertheless maintained a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research comments on Paylocity FY2029 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI recruiting traction: Paylocity’s partner HireQuotient highlighted results at Alliance Building Services, where its AI-native recruiting platform reportedly reduced manual recruiting work by 70% and cut time-to-hire by more than half. The customer example supports demand for Paylocity’s integrated human-capital-management ecosystem. Paylocity partners for AI-powered recruiting
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Paylocity traded higher alongside MongoDB, Datadog, Five9 and Monday.com, suggesting investor appetite for software and technology shares also contributed to the stock’s recent strength. Software stocks trade higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed estimate revisions: Zacks slightly reduced its Q2 2028 EPS forecast to $1.57 from $1.58 and Q4 2027 to $1.39 from $1.43, partly offsetting the broader upward revisions. The current-year consensus remains approximately $6.86 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited insider sale: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 441 shares for approximately $68,355 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.01%, leaving him with nearly 4.47 million shares, making it unlikely to materially alter investor sentiment. Paylocity director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk remains: With PCTY trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 32 times earnings, the stock may be vulnerable if future growth slows or estimates are revised lower. Zacks’ continued “Hold” rating reinforces that the improved outlook is not yet a broad-based bullish endorsement.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In related news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total value of $500,913.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,353,809.25. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joshua Scutt sold 4,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.82, for a total transaction of $708,648.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 75,729 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,718.78. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 30,741 shares of company stock worth $4,621,962 over the last quarter. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reduced their target price on Paylocity from $160.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $140.00 price target on Paylocity in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $128.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paylocity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.53.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PCTY opened at $157.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Holding Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.99 and a 1-year high of $180.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.32 and its 200-day moving average is $116.22.

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

About Paylocity

Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) software designed to streamline workforce administration for mid-sized organizations. The company’s integrated platform automates core functions such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor tracking, and compliance management, enabling employers to manage employee data more efficiently and reduce administrative burdens.

In addition to payroll and HR capabilities, Paylocity offers talent management solutions including recruiting, onboarding, performance tracking, and learning management.