D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 63,602 Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 229.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,372 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 63,602 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.16% of Paylocity worth $18,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PCTY. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 14.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,897 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Paylocity by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,590 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Paylocity by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 26,827 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Paylocity during the 4th quarter worth $226,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Paylocity stock opened at $198.76 on Tuesday. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 52-week low of $129.94 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $187.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The software maker reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $454.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $441.77 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paylocity news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 23,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $4,439,413.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 470,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,856,332. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 21.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PCTY shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $258.00 price objective (up from $254.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank started coverage on Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Paylocity from $210.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Paylocity from $204.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.00.

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.

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