Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $190.00 price objective on the software maker's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paylocity from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Paylocity from $214.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paylocity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.82.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of PCTY stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $183.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 260,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,072. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.70 and a 200 day moving average of $194.63. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 47.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Paylocity has a 12-month low of $129.94 and a 12-month high of $223.80.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 22.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paylocity will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 26,252 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.91, for a total transaction of $5,116,777.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 420,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,862,200. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 21.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCTY. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,897 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,407,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 5,742.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,842 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Paylocity during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,590 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company's stock.

About Paylocity

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.