Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Sets New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $178.70 and last traded at $177.9330, with a volume of 221,642 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $169.57.

The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $451.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $443.12 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share.

Paylocity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For fiscal Q1 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, ahead of the $1.93 consensus estimate, and revenue of $451.7 million versus $443.1 million expected. Revenue grew 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12% to $424.5 million. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations, adding to the positive earnings report. Paylocity’s Q3 CY2026 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets while maintaining Buy ratings: Truist increased its target to $200 from $165, and BTIG raised its target to $210 from $200. The revisions signal improved analyst expectations for the shares. Truist raises Paylocity price target
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter and reported $850.2 million in cumulative repurchases since May 2024, supporting shareholder returns. It also completed its acquisition of Aidora, expanding its AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Paylocity first-quarter financial results

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Paylocity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.65.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, Chairman Steven Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $2,478,300.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $205,432,730.58. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 19,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $3,070,241.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,453,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,672,441.10. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,704 shares of company stock worth $25,137,741. 19.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PCTY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Paylocity in the second quarter valued at approximately $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth $70,540,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Paylocity by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 663,449 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,350,000 after acquiring an additional 57,291 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Paylocity by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 616,407 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $66,597,000 after acquiring an additional 93,065 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,906,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Stock Up 4.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.26. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll software for organizations. Its platform is designed to help employers manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce administration through an integrated system.

The company also offers tools for time and labor management, scheduling, employee communications, engagement, surveys, expense management, and other workplace activities.