Citizens Jmp Issues Positive Forecast for Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Price

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its price target boosted by Citizens Jmp from $180.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the software maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PCTY. Wall Street Zen downgraded Paylocity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Paylocity from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.47.

Paylocity Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Paylocity stock traded up $3.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $173.15. 1,225,928 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 596,017. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.43. Paylocity has a twelve month low of $92.99 and a twelve month high of $180.88.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $451.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.12 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paylocity will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, Chairman Steven R. Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $2,478,300.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,243,389 shares in the company, valued at $205,432,730.58. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven Sarowitz sold 8,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.31, for a total value of $1,524,659.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,354,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $746,032,608.39. This represents a 0.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 151,704 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,741. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PCTY. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Paylocity by 0.8% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,412 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 2.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 8.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 88,051 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $12,547,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 22.5% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 3,594 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Paylocity by 42.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,897 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Paylocity News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For Q1 fiscal 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, versus the $1.93 consensus, and revenue of $451.7 million, above the $443.1 million estimate. Revenue increased 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12%. The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases added to the upbeat tone: Citizens JMP raised its target to $200 and kept a market outperform rating; Truist raised its target to $200 and maintained Buy; and BTIG lifted its target to $210 and reiterated Buy. Citizens JMP recommendations Truist target change BTIG Research recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter, continuing a buyback program that may support per-share results. It also completed the acquisition of Aidora to expand AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Quarterly results release
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $176 but maintained an Equal Weight rating, signaling a more cautious view than the other target revisions. Barclays recommendations

Paylocity Company Profile

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.