Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Price Target Lowered to $225.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has downgraded the price target for Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) from $235.00 to $225.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 20% from the previous close.
• Other analysts have varied perspectives on Paylocity, with some rating it "equal weight" with a target of $200.00, while others have assigned target prices between $202.00 and $258.00.
• Following the downgrade, Paylocity's stock has seen a 3.2% increase during trading, reaching $187.50, with a market cap of $10.36 billion.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $235.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the software maker's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.16% from the company's current price.

PCTY has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens began coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $225.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.19.

Paylocity Price Performance

PCTY traded down $6.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.94. 661,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,705. Paylocity has a one year low of $146.02 and a one year high of $223.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.54.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.18. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $400.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $388.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Paylocity's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paylocity will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 1,717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 11,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,573.22. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 21.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,107 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the software maker's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,710 shares of the software maker's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,947 shares of the software maker's stock worth $26,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,625 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paylocity Company 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.