Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 124,342 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 24,465 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Paylocity worth $20,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 4.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,686 shares of the software maker's stock worth $62,324,000 after acquiring an additional 21,127 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,551 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,578,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Paylocity by 217.2% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 26,477 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,491,000 after buying an additional 18,131 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Paylocity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Paylocity by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,375 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paylocity Trading Down 0.3 %

Paylocity stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $200.60. 140,090 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,306. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 51.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.33. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 12-month low of $129.94 and a 12-month high of $215.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PCTY shares. Barclays upped their price target on Paylocity from $174.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Paylocity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Paylocity from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $172.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $187.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paylocity currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.71.

Insider Activity

In other Paylocity news, SVP Rachit Lohani sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.83, for a total value of $107,142.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,474,772.12. This trade represents a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 29,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.55, for a total value of $5,819,059.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,310,445.25. This represents a 71.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 151,061 shares of company stock valued at $30,438,470. 21.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paylocity Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation engages in the provision of cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers payroll software solution for global payroll, expense management, tax services, on demand payment, and garnishment managed services; and time and labor management software for time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection.