Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Holdings in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings purchased 32,688 Paylocity shares worth approximately $3.4 million, giving it a 0.06% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.76% of PCTY.
• Paylocity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.84 in EPS versus a $1.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $444.73 million, up 11% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $160.53, though the stock’s roughly 32x P/E ratio and proximity to its 52-week high highlight valuation risk.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,688 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,411,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.06% of Paylocity as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Paylocity during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in Paylocity by 5,925.0% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 241 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Paylocity during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paylocity by 4,250.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the software maker's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $160.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Paylocity

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 441 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $68,355.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,472,954 shares in the company, valued at $693,307,870. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 2,550 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $382,066.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,641,814.07. This represents a 5.44% 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 30,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,621,962 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Paylocity Price Performance

NASDAQ: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 firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $131.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.22. 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 (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The business had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Paylocity Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PCTY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report).

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.