Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $200.00 price target on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on PCTY. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $197.00 to $186.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paylocity from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a buy rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $201.88.

Paylocity Stock Up 12.1 %

NASDAQ:PCTY traded up $18.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.63. 2,044,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 443,692. Paylocity has a one year low of $139.40 and a one year high of $230.52. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of 48.73, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.52.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. Paylocity had a return on equity of 23.25% and a net margin of 14.42%. The business had revenue of $326.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.34 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paylocity will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 20,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.55, for a total transaction of $3,376,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,762,703.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paylocity news, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 20,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.55, for a total transaction of $3,376,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,762,703.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 7,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $1,295,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,746,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,572,832.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,359 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 22.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 144.1% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. American National Bank bought a new stake in Paylocity during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paylocity in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paylocity during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation provides cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers Payroll and Tax Services solution to simplifies payroll, automates processes, and manages compliance requirements within one system; and expense management, on demand payment, and garnishment solutions.