Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 21,279 Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,279 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,245,000. Paylocity makes up 2.7% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at about $644,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 641.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 25,200 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,027,000 after purchasing an additional 21,800 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 41,832 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 20,391 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,766 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 90,759 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $18,103,000 after purchasing an additional 33,547 shares in the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 23,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $4,439,413.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 470,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,856,332. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 21.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $258.00 target price (up from $254.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Paylocity from $246.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Paylocity from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $210.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paylocity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.00.

Paylocity Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $201.04 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $188.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Paylocity Holding Co. has a one year low of $129.94 and a one year high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 51.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The software maker reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $454.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $441.77 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 22.45%. Paylocity’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Paylocity

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.