Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Paylocity from $240.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.05.

Paylocity Price Performance

NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $103.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.93. Paylocity has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $210.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. Paylocity had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.19%.The firm had revenue of $416.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $408.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paylocity will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCTY. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paylocity by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 943,591 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $143,747,000 after acquiring an additional 404,605 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 117.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 817,209 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $124,625,000 after purchasing an additional 442,218 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 748,803 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $119,262,000 after purchasing an additional 369,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 659,472 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $100,570,000 after purchasing an additional 42,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Paylocity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $104,657,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

About Paylocity

Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) software designed to streamline workforce administration for mid-sized organizations. The company’s integrated platform automates core functions such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor tracking, and compliance management, enabling employers to manage employee data more efficiently and reduce administrative burdens.

In addition to payroll and HR capabilities, Paylocity offers talent management solutions including recruiting, onboarding, performance tracking, and learning management.