Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.02 Million Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,749 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Paylocity by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 49,614 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,360,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at about $54,906,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 415,879 shares of the software maker's stock worth $63,422,000 after purchasing an additional 115,111 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter worth about $430,315,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Paylocity News Summary

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.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PCTY opened at $157.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.32 and a 200 day moving average of $116.25. 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 Holding Corporation has a one year low of $92.99 and a one year high of $180.86.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The company had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $431.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $140.00 target price on Paylocity in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research lowered Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $128.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Paylocity from $160.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.53.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In other Paylocity 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 transaction of $382,066.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director owned 4,535,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,931,192.12. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,621,962. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paylocity 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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source