Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,492 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Paylocity were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Paylocity by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,603 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,118 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,813,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.4% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 7,661 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paylocity from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $258.00 price target (up previously from $254.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Paylocity from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Paylocity from $210.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.75.

Paylocity Price Performance

PCTY stock traded down $1.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 410,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,004. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 1 year low of $140.06 and a 1 year high of $223.80. 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 capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $187.12 and its 200-day moving average is $192.43.

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

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 1,717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.74, for a total value of $303,462.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,112,573.22. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 21.91% of the company's stock.

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.