Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Paylocity Holding Corporation $PCTY

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 5,701 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Paylocity by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 136,388 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,365 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 537.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 2,782.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,688 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,466,000 after buying an additional 34,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 10.0% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,241 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paylocity news, SVP Joshua Scutt sold 4,730 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.82, for a total transaction of $708,648.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 75,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,345,718.78. The trade was a 5.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total value of $500,913.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 122,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,353,809.25. This represents a 2.66% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,741 shares of company stock worth $4,621,962. Company insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Down 0.1%

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 market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.32 and a 200 day moving average of $116.22.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%.The firm had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $201.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Paylocity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Paylocity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Paylocity from $128.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.53.

Trending Headlines about Paylocity

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.