Entropy Technologies LP Buys 3,069 Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 249.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,300 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,069 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Paylocity by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,652 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paylocity by 3.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Paylocity by 6.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,373 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Paylocity by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 384 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Performance

Shares of PCTY opened at $209.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.33 and a 200-day moving average of $182.16. 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 0.29, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.95.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 22.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Nicholas Rost sold 212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.29, for a total transaction of $40,977.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,387.56. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Andrew Cappotelli sold 247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,828,605.86. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,380 shares of company stock worth $25,830,669. Insiders own 21.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PCTY. UBS Group upped their price target on Paylocity from $211.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Paylocity from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Paylocity from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $254.00 price objective (up from $212.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.25.

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.