Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Paylocity a “Moderate Buy” consensus: 12 of 17 covering analysts rate it a buy, while five recommend holding; the average 12-month price target is $177.82.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share versus the $1.93 consensus and revenue of $451.67 million, up 10.7% year over year.
• Shares closed at $178.22, down 0.4% on the day and near their 52-week high of $181.57. Company insiders sold 159,404 shares worth about $26.5 million over the prior 90 days.

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.82.

PCTY has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research cut Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paylocity from $162.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In related news, Director Steven Sarowitz sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $72,016.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,340,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $781,498,727.80. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 159,404 shares of company stock valued at $26,527,019 over the last ninety days. 20.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Paylocity by 0.8% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,412 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Paylocity by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,639 shares of the software maker's stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 2.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the software maker's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 861 shares of the software maker's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Paylocity Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:PCTY traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $178.22. The stock had a trading volume of 533,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,195. Paylocity has a fifty-two week low of $92.99 and a fifty-two week high of $181.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $158.32 and its 200 day moving average is $128.30. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.16. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 27.59%. The company had revenue of $451.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paylocity will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation provides cloud-based human capital management and payroll software to businesses in the United States. Its platform brings together tools that help employers manage payroll, human resources, benefits, and workforce operations. Products and services include payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor management, talent acquisition and development, employee communications, and expense management. The platform is designed to help organizations streamline administrative work and support employees and managers through a unified system.

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