Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) shares gapped up following a strong earnings report, with a quarterly EPS of $1.56 beating estimates by $0.18, and a revenue of $400.74 million surpassing analyst expectations.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.38.
• Insider selling activity was noted, as SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 1,717 shares at an average price of $176.74, reducing his position in the company.

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $181.71, but opened at $197.78. Paylocity shares last traded at $187.50, with a volume of 137,667 shares traded.

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 return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 14.24%. The business had revenue of $400.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $388.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PCTY. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Paylocity from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Stephens assumed coverage on Paylocity in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Paylocity from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.19.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In other news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 1,717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.74, for a total transaction of $303,462.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,112,573.22. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 21.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCTY. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company's stock.

Paylocity Stock Down 3.7%

The company has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $183.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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.