Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 17,176 Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 141,518 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,176 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $28,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PCTY. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Paylocity by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 123,643 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $24,663,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,101,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Certuity LLC bought a new position in Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Paylocity by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 94.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paylocity Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $204.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 52.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.95. Paylocity Holding Co. has a one year low of $129.94 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.84.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.60). Paylocity had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 14.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Paylocity

In related news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total transaction of $603,693.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,211,215 shares in the company, valued at $1,917,498,626.55. The trade was a 0.03 % 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, Director Jeffrey T. Diehl sold 4,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.91, for a total transaction of $947,323.83. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,003 shares in the company, valued at $210,539.73. The trade was a 81.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,999 shares of company stock worth $17,822,987. Company insiders own 21.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target (up from $212.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $211.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paylocity from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.25.

Paylocity 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.