Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Price Target Lowered to $150.00 at Mizuho

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Mizuho from $180.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the software maker’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.06% from the stock’s previous close.

PCTY has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens set a $160.00 price target on Paylocity in a report on Friday, January 16th. JMP Securities set a $245.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $185.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on shares of Paylocity from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.42.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of Paylocity stock opened at $127.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.32. Paylocity has a fifty-two week low of $123.71 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.54.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The software maker reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $408.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $399.53 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.07% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paylocity will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 1,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.65, for a total value of $249,520.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,945.85. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paylocity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the third quarter worth about $104,657,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 500.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 449,935 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $81,438,000 after purchasing an additional 375,023 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 748,803 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $119,262,000 after purchasing an additional 369,975 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Paylocity by 311.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 432,070 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $65,891,000 after purchasing an additional 327,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Paylocity by 114.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 516,798 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $82,310,000 after buying an additional 275,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat — Paylocity delivered $1.85 EPS vs. ~$1.57 consensus and total revenue of $416.1M (up ~10.4% YoY), showing better-than-expected operating performance and margin strength. Paylocity Announces Second-Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow & buybacks — trailing 12‑month operating cash flow and free cash flow margins remain strong (28.3% and 23.6%), and the company repurchased $100M in Q2 (about 690k shares), totaling ~$600M repurchased since May 2024 — supports shareholder returns. Paylocity Announces Second-Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI commentary — management emphasized accelerating revenue growth drivers and AI enhancements on the earnings call that could support longer-term product differentiation. Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — full earnings slide deck and call transcript were posted for investor review (useful for deeper due diligence). Paylocity Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Soft guidance — Paylocity set FY2026 revenue guidance around $1.6B (below ~$1.7B consensus) and Q3 revenue guidance of $457.5M–$462.5M (vs. ~$483.8M consensus), triggering investor concern and short‑term pressure on the shares. Paylocity shares fall as strong Q2 results overshadowed by guidance concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst stance & valuation notes — UBS issued a hold and some coverage questioned near-term upside; at least one valuation piece suggests the stock may be below an intrinsic estimate (mixed implications for timing). Paylocity Receives a Hold from UBS

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.