Wasatch Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 86.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,922 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 698,090 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $11,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paylocity by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 943,591 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $143,747,000 after buying an additional 404,605 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 117.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 817,209 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $124,625,000 after acquiring an additional 442,218 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 97.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 748,803 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $119,262,000 after acquiring an additional 369,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 659,472 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $100,570,000 after acquiring an additional 42,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the third quarter worth approximately $104,657,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Paylocity from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paylocity from $137.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paylocity from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.00.

Paylocity Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of PCTY stock opened at $145.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.99 and a twelve month high of $182.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $120.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.48.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The firm had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $431.46 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Paylocity’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 11,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $1,679,420.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,535,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,931,192.12. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.05, for a total value of $103,429.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,968.95. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 19.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paylocity 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.