Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 9,749 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,306,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paylocity in the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth $348,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth $14,998,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth $54,867,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PCTY shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paylocity from $122.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.53.

Paylocity Stock Performance

PCTY opened at $157.93 on Monday. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.99 and a 52 week high of $180.86. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.47.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%.The firm had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In related news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total value of $500,913.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at $18,353,809.25. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $382,066.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,641,814.07. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 30,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,621,962 over the last three months. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher long-term earnings forecasts: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $6.33 from $5.98 and its FY2028 forecast to $7.18 from $6.67. It also initiated a FY2029 estimate of $8.28 and increased several quarterly forecasts, signaling improved expectations for Paylocity’s earnings trajectory. Zacks nevertheless maintained a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research comments on Paylocity FY2029 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI recruiting traction: Paylocity’s partner HireQuotient highlighted results at Alliance Building Services, where its AI-native recruiting platform reportedly reduced manual recruiting work by 70% and cut time-to-hire by more than half. The customer example supports demand for Paylocity’s integrated human-capital-management ecosystem. Paylocity partners for AI-powered recruiting
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Paylocity traded higher alongside MongoDB, Datadog, Five9 and Monday.com, suggesting investor appetite for software and technology shares also contributed to the stock’s recent strength. Software stocks trade higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed estimate revisions: Zacks slightly reduced its Q2 2028 EPS forecast to $1.57 from $1.58 and Q4 2027 to $1.39 from $1.43, partly offsetting the broader upward revisions. The current-year consensus remains approximately $6.86 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited insider sale: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 441 shares for approximately $68,355 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.01%, leaving him with nearly 4.47 million shares, making it unlikely to materially alter investor sentiment. Paylocity director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk remains: With PCTY trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 32 times earnings, the stock may be vulnerable if future growth slows or estimates are revised lower. Zacks’ continued “Hold” rating reinforces that the improved outlook is not yet a broad-based bullish endorsement.

Paylocity Company Profile

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.