Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY Holdings Lifted by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Paylocity stake by 9.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 663,449 shares valued at approximately $69.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.76% of the company.
• Paylocity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $1.84 versus the $1.62 consensus and revenue of $444.73 million, up 11% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $160.53, while insiders have sold $8.32 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,449 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 57,291 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 1.25% of Paylocity worth $69,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PCTY. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Paylocity by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 49,614 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,891 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth $54,906,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth $430,315,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 40.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,181 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $14,496,000 after buying an additional 38,697 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at $20,119,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of PCTY opened at $142.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.45. 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 one year low of $92.99 and a one year high of $172.63.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 3,145 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.80, for a total transaction of $493,136.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $346,057.60. The trade was a 58.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total value of $500,913.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at $18,353,809.25. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 54,214 shares of company stock worth $8,322,580. Insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PCTY shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $122.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Paylocity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.53.

About Paylocity

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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