Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $214.00 to $231.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Paylocity traded as high as $223.00 and last traded at $214.83, with a volume of 2319 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $212.01.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Paylocity from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price (up from $212.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Paylocity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Nicholas Rost sold 212 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.29, for a total transaction of $40,977.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,387.56. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.14, for a total transaction of $520,364.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,332,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,667,635,928.58. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,380 shares of company stock valued at $25,830,669 over the last quarter. 21.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Paylocity by 1,650.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 175 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Paylocity during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Paylocity by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Paylocity by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 309 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paylocity Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $201.32 and its 200-day moving average is $180.76. The stock has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 22.92%. On average, analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.46 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.