Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,689 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $699,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PCTY. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Paylocity during the 2nd quarter valued at $430,315,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 943,591 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $143,747,000 after purchasing an additional 404,605 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 117.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 817,209 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $124,625,000 after purchasing an additional 442,218 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 97.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 748,803 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $119,262,000 after buying an additional 369,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 659,472 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $100,570,000 after buying an additional 42,725 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $152.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 0.48. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.99 and a 1-year high of $181.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The firm had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $431.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joshua Scutt sold 4,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.82, for a total value of $708,648.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 75,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,345,718.78. This represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $68,355.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,472,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,307,870. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,741 shares of company stock worth $4,621,962. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PCTY shares. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Paylocity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Paylocity from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.53.

About Paylocity

Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) software designed to streamline workforce administration for mid-sized organizations. The company’s integrated platform automates core functions such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor tracking, and compliance management, enabling employers to manage employee data more efficiently and reduce administrative burdens.

In addition to payroll and HR capabilities, Paylocity offers talent management solutions including recruiting, onboarding, performance tracking, and learning management.