Squarepoint Ops LLC Trims Holdings in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Paylocity stake by 70.7% in the second quarter, selling 116,198 shares and retaining 48,156 shares valued at about $5.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.76% of PCTY.
• Paylocity reported quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share, beating estimates of $1.62, while revenue rose 11% year over year to $444.73 million. Analysts project $6.92 in earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view, with 12 analysts rating the stock a Buy and five rating it Hold; the consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $160.53.

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,156 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 116,198 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Paylocity worth $5,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Paylocity by 1.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the software maker's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 861 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paylocity Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ PCTY opened at $141.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.13. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a one year low of $92.99 and a one year high of $172.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 2,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 44,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,641,814.07. This represents a 5.44% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 54,214 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,580. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PCTY shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Paylocity from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays increased their target price 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, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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