Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,710 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,603 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Paylocity by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 274 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Paylocity by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paylocity by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,156 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PCTY. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paylocity from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $231.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paylocity from $211.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Paylocity from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.82.

Paylocity Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $183.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Paylocity Holding Co. has a twelve month low of $129.94 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $193.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.63.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 14.76%. Equities research analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In related news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 26,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.91, for a total value of $5,116,777.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 420,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,862,200. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 21.91% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation engages in the provision of cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers payroll software solution for global payroll, expense management, tax services, on demand payment, and garnishment managed services; and time and labor management software for time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection.