Short Interest in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) Drops By 12.9%

Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a drop of 12.9% from the August 31st total of 2,100,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 523,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $161.39 on Friday. Paylocity has a 1 year low of $129.94 and a 1 year high of $206.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.94.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The software maker reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.19. Paylocity had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company had revenue of $357.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paylocity will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In related news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.06, for a total transaction of $196,084.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,352,224.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.06, for a total transaction of $196,084.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,352,224.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven R. Beauchamp sold 49,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $7,054,384.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,745,022 shares in the company, valued at $248,979,738.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,974 shares of company stock worth $7,272,256 in the last three months. Insiders own 22.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 192,028 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $31,654,000 after purchasing an additional 38,613 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Paylocity during the 4th quarter valued at $2,507,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Paylocity by 274.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 65,010 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $10,717,000 after buying an additional 47,663 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 1st quarter worth $1,540,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,938,000. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PCTY shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paylocity from $178.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Paylocity from $180.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Paylocity from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paylocity from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.13.

Paylocity Company Profile

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.