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

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

PCTY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their target price on Paylocity from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Paylocity from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Paylocity from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a buy rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paylocity currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $196.67.

Paylocity Stock Performance

PCTY opened at $171.06 on Friday. Paylocity has a fifty-two week low of $139.40 and a fifty-two week high of $230.52. The company has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.30 and a 200-day moving average of $162.81.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.08. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The firm had revenue of $326.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.34 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paylocity will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, SVP Katherine Ross sold 491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.29, for a total transaction of $82,630.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,756.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paylocity news, SVP Katherine Ross sold 491 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.29, for a total transaction of $82,630.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,756.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 20,032 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.55, for a total value of $3,376,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,762,703.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,359 over the last quarter. 22.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Paylocity by 6.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,681 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Paylocity by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 37,961 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,524,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,974,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paylocity by 152.0% during the first quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 383 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.