Insider Selling: Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Director Sells $17,023.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Steven Sarowitz sold 100 Paylocity shares for $17,023 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with roughly 4.35 million shares; the sale reduced his stake by effectively 0%.
• Paylocity shares slipped 0.1% to $168.40, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.84 versus the $1.62 consensus estimate and revenue growth of 11% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 12 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus; recent price targets include $200 from Guggenheim and $208 from Citigroup.

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) Director Steven Sarowitz sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.23, for a total transaction of $17,023.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,354,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $741,312,326.87. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Paylocity Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PCTY traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $168.40. The company had a trading volume of 492,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,189. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.99 and a 52-week high of $178.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $153.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.47. The firm has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.50.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Key Paylocity News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its Paylocity price target from $178 to $190 and maintained an “overweight” rating, indicating confidence in additional appreciation. KeyCorp analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reportedly forecasts strong upside for Paylocity, with coverage indicating a $200 price target and a “buy” rating. The call adds to a generally constructive analyst outlook. BTIG Research forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Paylocity has two key factors that could support an earnings beat in its upcoming report, increasing expectations ahead of the results. The company’s latest quarter also exceeded estimates, with EPS of $1.84 versus $1.62 expected and revenue growth of 11% year over year. Zacks earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Paylocity is projected to announce earnings on Thursday. The report could be a near-term catalyst because the stock’s valuation and recent gains leave investors focused on whether results and guidance justify further upside. Paylocity earnings announcement preview
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 8,900 shares for approximately $1.5 million after selling additional shares earlier in the week. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his ownership by only 0.20%, limiting the significance, but repeated insider selling may weigh on sentiment. Insider transaction report

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter worth about $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at about $70,540,000. Amundi increased its stake in Paylocity by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 663,449 shares of the software maker's stock worth $69,350,000 after buying an additional 57,291 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Paylocity by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 616,407 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $66,597,000 after purchasing an additional 93,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Paylocity during the second quarter worth about $54,906,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PCTY shares. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 price objective on Paylocity in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paylocity from $168.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their price target on Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.82.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation NASDAQ: PCTY provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll software for organizations. Its platform is designed to help employers manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce administration through an integrated system.

The company also offers tools for time and labor management, scheduling, employee communications, engagement, surveys, expense management, and other workplace activities.

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