JMP Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at JMP Securities from $250.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market outperform” rating on the software maker’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 31.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PCTY. StockNews.com raised Paylocity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 7th. Citigroup raised Paylocity from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $214.00 to $231.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Paylocity from $174.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Paylocity from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.13.

Paylocity Stock Down 2.9 %

PCTY traded down $6.16 on Friday, hitting $205.86. 593,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,868. Paylocity has a twelve month low of $129.94 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.95. 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 50-day moving average price of $201.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.76.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities analysts predict that Paylocity will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 15,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.43, for a total transaction of $3,018,220.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,272,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,812,204,019.58. This represents a 0.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.29, for a total value of $47,742.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,605.86. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,380 shares of company stock valued at $25,830,669 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 21.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paylocity

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PCTY. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $194,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,053 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 1,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 175 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paylocity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $290,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paylocity Company 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.