Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Paylocity beat quarterly expectations: Adjusted earnings were $2.09 per share versus $1.93 expected, while revenue reached $451.7 million, up 10.7% year over year.
• The shares reached a new 52-week high of $178.70 after the results, and the company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations.
• Several analysts raised their price targets, including BTIG to $210 and Truist to $200, both retaining Buy ratings.

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $178.70 and last traded at $177.9330, with a volume of 221,642 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.57.

The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.16. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The business had revenue of $451.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Stories Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For fiscal Q1 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, ahead of the $1.93 consensus estimate, and revenue of $451.7 million versus $443.1 million expected. Revenue grew 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12% to $424.5 million. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations, adding to the positive earnings report. Paylocity’s Q3 CY2026 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets while maintaining Buy ratings: Truist increased its target to $200 from $165, and BTIG raised its target to $210 from $200. The revisions signal improved analyst expectations for the shares. Truist raises Paylocity price target
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter and reported $850.2 million in cumulative repurchases since May 2024, supporting shareholder returns. It also completed its acquisition of Aidora, expanding its AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Paylocity first-quarter financial results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PCTY. Guggenheim raised their price target on Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Paylocity from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Paylocity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 19,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $3,070,241.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,453,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,672,441.10. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Steven Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total value of $2,478,300.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $205,432,730.58. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 151,704 shares of company stock worth $25,137,741 over the last three months. Company insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCTY. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth about $70,540,000. Amundi grew its stake in Paylocity by 9.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 663,449 shares of the software maker's stock worth $69,350,000 after buying an additional 57,291 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Paylocity by 17.8% during the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 616,407 shares of the software maker's stock worth $66,597,000 after buying an additional 93,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the second quarter worth approximately $54,906,000. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paylocity Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.26. 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 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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