Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 19,606 Shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Paylocity Holding Co. (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,694 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 19,606 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Paylocity were worth $6,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PCTY. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Paylocity by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,603 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 274 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Paylocity by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 247 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paylocity by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paylocity by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,156 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PCTY opened at $174.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.76. Paylocity Holding Co. has a 12-month low of $129.94 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $199.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.65.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paylocity Holding Co. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PCTY has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Paylocity from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho raised Paylocity from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paylocity from $211.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Paylocity from $214.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven I. Sarowitz sold 26,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.91, for a total value of $5,116,777.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 420,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,862,200. This trade represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 21.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.