Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stake in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 287,713 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 57,851 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $57,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PCTY. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 149.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 309 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paylocity by 489.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 274 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PCTY opened at $187.34 on Tuesday. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 1-year low of $129.94 and a 1-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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.96. The stock has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.94.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (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 22.45%. Equities analysts forecast that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 26,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.91, for a total transaction of $5,116,777.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 420,000 shares in the company, valued at $81,862,200. This trade represents a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 21.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Paylocity from $214.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target (up from $212.00) on shares of Paylocity in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.