Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its Paylocity stake by 181.7% in the second quarter, owning 32,688 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 94.76% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $160.53.
• Paylocity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.84 in EPS versus the $1.62 consensus and $444.73 million in revenue, up 11% year over year. Shares opened at $142.86, while insiders have sold roughly $8.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 181.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,688 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 21,083 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Paylocity worth $3,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Paylocity by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 35.0% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the software maker's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Paylocity by 16.0% during the first 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paylocity by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Paylocity in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.53.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of PCTY opened at $142.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.99 and a 1-year high of $172.63. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.98.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business's 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 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $382,066.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,641,814.07. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total transaction of $500,913.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,353,809.25. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 54,214 shares of company stock worth $8,322,580 over the last ninety days. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paylocity Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation is a provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and workforce management software. Its platform is designed to help organizations manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent, compliance and workforce operations through a unified system.

The company's products and services include payroll processing, time and labor management, benefits administration, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, employee surveys and workplace communication tools.

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