Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Moved Up to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on PCTY. Zacks Research lowered Paylocity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.47.

Paylocity Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $173.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.44. Paylocity has a twelve month low of $92.99 and a twelve month high of $180.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.43.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.16. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.49% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $451.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paylocity will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 19,459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $3,070,241.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,453,495 shares in the company, valued at $702,672,441.10. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Steven Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $2,478,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,243,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,432,730.58. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,704 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,741. 19.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 5,925.0% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 241 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paylocity by 4,250.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 342 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 58.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paylocity News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For Q1 fiscal 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, versus the $1.93 consensus, and revenue of $451.7 million, above the $443.1 million estimate. Revenue increased 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12%. The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases added to the upbeat tone: Citizens JMP raised its target to $200 and kept a market outperform rating; Truist raised its target to $200 and maintained Buy; and BTIG lifted its target to $210 and reiterated Buy. Citizens JMP recommendations Truist target change BTIG Research recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter, continuing a buyback program that may support per-share results. It also completed the acquisition of Aidora to expand AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Quarterly results release
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $176 but maintained an Equal Weight rating, signaling a more cautious view than the other target revisions. Barclays recommendations

About Paylocity

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.