Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 354 Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,785 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 192,028 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,654,000 after buying an additional 38,613 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Paylocity during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,507,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Paylocity by 274.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 65,010 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $10,717,000 after purchasing an additional 47,663 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the 1st quarter worth about $1,540,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Paylocity during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,938,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paylocity news, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 49,442 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $7,054,384.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,745,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,979,738.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.06, for a total value of $196,084.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,352,224.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 49,442 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $7,054,384.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,745,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $248,979,738.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,173 shares of company stock valued at $7,296,388 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PCTY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Paylocity from $160.00 to $156.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Paylocity from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.13.

Paylocity Stock Performance

PCTY opened at $161.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.99. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 52-week low of $129.94 and a 52-week high of $206.28.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The software maker reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.19. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $357.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Paylocity

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.