Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes $364,000 Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. has acquired 1,944 shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation, valued at approximately $364,000, according to their recent SEC filing.
• Paylocity reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.43 for the last quarter, outperforming analysts' expectations of $2.09 EPS, with revenue of $454.55 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Paylocity, with an average price target of $221.76 following recent upgrades from multiple firms.

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,944 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Paylocity by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 650,599 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $129,775,000 after purchasing an additional 377,835 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Paylocity by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,332,213 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $265,737,000 after purchasing an additional 320,319 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paylocity in the first quarter valued at $37,085,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 6,025.6% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 125,758 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $25,085,000 after buying an additional 123,705 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 1st quarter valued at $20,106,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Paylocity stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $186.51. The stock had a trading volume of 44,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,662. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.50. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $142.00 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The software maker reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $454.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $441.77 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 14.65%. Paylocity's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PCTY shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Paylocity from $209.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paylocity from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paylocity currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.76.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 1,717 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.74, for a total transaction of $303,462.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,573.22. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 21.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paylocity 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.