Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Paylocity Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised Paylocity’s Q1 2027 EPS estimate to $1.34 from $1.27, while maintaining a “Hold” rating. Its full-year 2027 and 2028 forecasts are $6.33 and $7.18 per share, respectively, though some quarterly estimates were trimmed.
• Paylocity’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.84 versus the $1.62 consensus and revenue of $444.73 million versus $431.46 million. Revenue increased 11% year over year, with a 15.23% net margin and 27.02% return on equity.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $160.53. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the shares, while insiders have recently sold stock under pre-arranged trading plans.

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2027 EPS estimates for Paylocity in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the software maker will post earnings per share of $1.34 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.27. Zacks Research currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Paylocity's current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paylocity's Q2 2027 earnings at $1.33 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.39 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.33 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.57 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q4 2028 earnings at $1.70 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.18 EPS.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS.

PCTY has been the topic of several other research reports. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Paylocity from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Paylocity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paylocity from $122.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.53.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of Paylocity stock opened at $152.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Paylocity has a 1 year low of $92.99 and a 1 year high of $181.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $129.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.64. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 0.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PCTY. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Paylocity by 10,474.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,246,465 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $548,413,000 after buying an additional 5,196,851 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth about $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth about $70,540,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,657,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,428,000. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joshua Scutt sold 4,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.82, for a total value of $708,648.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,345,718.78. This represents a 5.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 11,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $1,679,420.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,535,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,931,192.12. This represents a 0.24% 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 a total of 30,741 shares of company stock worth $4,621,962 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $6.33 from $5.98 and its FY2028 forecast to $7.18 from $6.67. The firm also increased estimates for Q1 and Q2 2027 and Q3 2028, indicating improved expectations for Paylocity’s earnings growth. Zacks additionally initiated a FY2029 EPS estimate of $8.28. Paylocity analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity’s partnership with HireQuotient received customer validation: Alliance Building Services reportedly reduced manual recruiting work by 70% and cut time-to-hire by more than half using HireQuotient’s AI-native recruiting platform. The example supports the value of Paylocity’s partner ecosystem and integrated human-capital software offering. HireQuotient Alliance Building Services announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The estimate changes were not uniformly positive. Zacks trimmed its Q2 2028 EPS forecast slightly to $1.57 from $1.58 and reduced Q4 2027 to $1.39 from $1.43, while maintaining a “Hold” rating. The current-year consensus remains $6.86 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 441 shares for approximately $68,355 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale represented only 0.01% of his ownership, leaving him with nearly 4.47 million shares, so it is unlikely to materially affect investor sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: The modest downward revisions for select future quarters introduce some uncertainty around the pace and timing of earnings growth, particularly given Paylocity’s elevated valuation relative to its historical trading range.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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