Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Price Target Raised to $190.00

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its price target increased by KeyCorp from $178.00 to $190.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on PCTY. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 price target on shares of Paylocity in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Paylocity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.88.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of PCTY stock opened at $170.91 on Wednesday. Paylocity has a 12-month low of $92.99 and a 12-month high of $178.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $205,432,730.58. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $3,070,241.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,453,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,672,441.10. This trade represents a 0.44% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 162,840 shares of company stock valued at $26,817,161. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Paylocity by 1.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,639 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Paylocity by 16.0% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 861 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 29,653 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,535,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 37.7% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target from $165 to $200 and maintained an “overweight” rating. The new target implies additional upside and is the most immediate catalyst supporting PCTY. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc maintained its “buy” rating, while other firms including Guggenheim and BTIG Research have recently cited $200 targets. The continued concentration of bullish ratings reinforces confidence in Paylocity’s growth outlook. KeyBanc rating
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report. Zacks identifies Paylocity as a potential earnings-beat candidate, supported by cloud and AI-related software demand. In the latest reported quarter, EPS of $1.84 exceeded the $1.62 consensus and revenue grew 11% year over year. Zacks software earnings outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 94.8% of PCTY, indicating strong sponsorship. However, the stock’s valuation—roughly 34 times earnings—leaves less room for disappointment if results or guidance fall short.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 8,900 shares for approximately $1.52 million and an additional 100 shares for $17,023. Both transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and he still owns more than 4.35 million shares. The limited reduction in ownership reduces the significance of the sales, but repeated insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

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.