Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $200.00 price target on the software maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.31% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, January 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paylocity has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.88.

Paylocity Stock Performance

PCTY traded up $18.03 on Friday, reaching $167.63. 2,044,545 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,692. Paylocity has a twelve month low of $139.40 and a twelve month high of $230.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.30 and its 200-day moving average is $163.23. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.73, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.88.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $326.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.34 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 23.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paylocity will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 20,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.55, for a total transaction of $3,376,393.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,762,703.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $3,376,393.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,762,703.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 24,504 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total value of $4,299,716.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,587,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,682,383,899.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,547 shares of company stock worth $9,356,359. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 144.1% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paylocity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paylocity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.