Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 21,279 Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,279 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,245,000. Paylocity comprises about 2.7% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd bought a new position in Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $644,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Paylocity by 641.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 25,200 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,027,000 after buying an additional 21,800 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Paylocity by 95.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 41,832 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $8,344,000 after buying an additional 20,391 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Paylocity by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,766 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Paylocity by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 90,759 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $18,103,000 after buying an additional 33,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 26,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.91, for a total value of $5,116,777.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 420,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,862,200. This represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 21.91% of the company's stock.

Paylocity Price Performance

PCTY traded up $0.37 on Thursday, hitting $196.91. 405,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,820. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 12 month low of $129.94 and a 12 month high of $223.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $189.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $454.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $441.77 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PCTY shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $204.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $210.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paylocity has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.00.

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.