Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Paylocity shares broke above their 50-day moving average, reaching $158.57 and last trading at $158.11, compared with a 50-day average of $148.84.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 17 analysts and a consensus price target of $163.76, including BMO’s increase to $175.
• Paylocity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.84 in earnings per share versus $1.62 expected and $444.73 million in revenue, up 11% year over year. However, insiders sold 54,214 shares worth $8.3 million over the past three months.

Shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.84 and traded as high as $158.57. Paylocity shares last traded at $158.11, with a volume of 525,250 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PCTY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paylocity from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Paylocity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Paylocity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.76.

Paylocity Stock Up 1.3%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $148.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.50.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. Paylocity's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven 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 value of $3,070,241.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,453,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,672,441.10. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kenneth Robinson sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.41, for a total value of $126,728.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,068,475.45. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,214 shares of company stock worth $8,322,580. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its position in Paylocity by 6.5% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 6,741 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in Paylocity by 19.4% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 7,777 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $261,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 48.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,988 shares of the software maker's stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 32.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the software maker's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation NASDAQ: PCTY provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software for organizations and their employees. Its platform is designed to help businesses manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, workforce administration and related compliance activities through a unified system.

The company's products and services include payroll processing, tax and regulatory support, time and labor management, benefits administration, talent acquisition and management, employee performance tools, expense management, reporting and analytics.

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