3,330 Shares in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,330 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PCTY. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Paylocity by 1.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,472 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paylocity by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Paylocity by 35.0% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Paylocity by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 861 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Paylocity by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $382,066.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,641,814.07. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 11,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,621,962. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paylocity Price Performance

Shares of PCTY opened at $157.93 on Friday. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.99 and a 12 month high of $180.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.22. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. Paylocity had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Paylocity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Paylocity from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Paylocity from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.53.

Key Paylocity News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher long-term earnings forecasts: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $6.33 from $5.98 and its FY2028 forecast to $7.18 from $6.67. It also initiated a FY2029 estimate of $8.28 and increased several quarterly forecasts, signaling improved expectations for Paylocity’s earnings trajectory. Zacks nevertheless maintained a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research comments on Paylocity FY2029 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI recruiting traction: Paylocity’s partner HireQuotient highlighted results at Alliance Building Services, where its AI-native recruiting platform reportedly reduced manual recruiting work by 70% and cut time-to-hire by more than half. The customer example supports demand for Paylocity’s integrated human-capital-management ecosystem. Paylocity partners for AI-powered recruiting
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Paylocity traded higher alongside MongoDB, Datadog, Five9 and Monday.com, suggesting investor appetite for software and technology shares also contributed to the stock’s recent strength. Software stocks trade higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed estimate revisions: Zacks slightly reduced its Q2 2028 EPS forecast to $1.57 from $1.58 and Q4 2027 to $1.39 from $1.43, partly offsetting the broader upward revisions. The current-year consensus remains approximately $6.86 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited insider sale: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 441 shares for approximately $68,355 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.01%, leaving him with nearly 4.47 million shares, making it unlikely to materially alter investor sentiment. Paylocity director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk remains: With PCTY trading near its 52-week high and at roughly 32 times earnings, the stock may be vulnerable if future growth slows or estimates are revised lower. Zacks’ continued “Hold” rating reinforces that the improved outlook is not yet a broad-based bullish endorsement.

Paylocity Company 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.