Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 32,688 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Paylocity by 1.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Paylocity by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 861 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paylocity by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PCTY. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Paylocity from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stephens lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paylocity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.53.

Paylocity News Summary

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.

Paylocity Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PCTY opened at $157.93 on Friday. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.99 and a 52 week high of $180.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.32 and a 200-day moving average of $116.22.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%.The business had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. Paylocity’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In other news, SVP Joshua Scutt sold 4,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.82, for a total transaction of $708,648.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,345,718.78. The trade was a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total value of $500,913.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 122,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,353,809.25. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,621,962. Company insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

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.