Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $200.00 price target on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PCTY. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Paylocity from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Paylocity from $210.00 to $194.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Paylocity from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Paylocity from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $196.67.

Paylocity Price Performance

NASDAQ PCTY traded up $3.43 on Friday, reaching $171.06. The stock had a trading volume of 602,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,330. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $165.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.98. Paylocity has a 1-year low of $139.40 and a 1-year high of $230.52.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The business had revenue of $326.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.34 million. Research analysts predict that Paylocity will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 7,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $1,295,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,746,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,572,832.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 24,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total transaction of $4,299,716.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,587,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,383,899.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 7,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $1,295,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,746,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,572,832.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,359 in the last ninety days. 22.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 144.1% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. American National Bank bought a new stake in Paylocity during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Paylocity during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paylocity during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation provides cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers Payroll and Tax Services solution to simplifies payroll, automates processes, and manages compliance requirements within one system; and expense management, on demand payment, and garnishment solutions.