Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $255.00 to $235.00. The stock had previously closed at $194.16, but opened at $188.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Paylocity shares last traded at $192.54, with a volume of 105,014 shares.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Paylocity from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Paylocity from $246.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 23,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $4,439,413.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 470,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,856,332. The trade was a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 21.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCTY. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Paylocity in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Paylocity in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Paylocity by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 489.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the software maker's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Trading Down 3.5 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $188.97 and its 200 day moving average is $196.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.76.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The software maker reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $454.55 million for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

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.

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