Steven Sarowitz Sells 441 Shares of Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) Director Steven Sarowitz sold 441 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $68,355.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,472,954 shares in the company, valued at $693,307,870. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Paylocity Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PCTY opened at $158.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Paylocity Holding Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.99 and a 12 month high of $181.97. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.93.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.22. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%.The firm had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Paylocity Holding Corporation will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on PCTY. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $140.00 target price on Paylocity in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paylocity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.53.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PCTY. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Paylocity by 10,474.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,246,465 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $548,413,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196,851 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $430,315,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Paylocity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,540,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Paylocity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,657,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Paylocity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,428,000. 94.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised several future EPS forecasts. Zacks Research lifted its FY2027 estimate to $6.33 from $5.98 and its FY2028 estimate to $7.18 from $6.67. It also increased projections for Q1 and Q2 of 2027, Q3 of 2028, and initiated an FY2029 estimate of $8.28. The revisions suggest improved expectations for Paylocity’s long-term earnings growth, although Zacks retained a “Hold” rating. Zacks Paylocity estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI recruiting capabilities are gaining customer traction. Paylocity is partnering with a major client through HireQuotient’s AI-powered recruiting platform. A customer cited a 70% reduction in manual recruiting work and a more-than-50% reduction in time to hire, supporting the potential value of Paylocity’s integrated HCM and recruiting ecosystem. Paylocity AI recruiting partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Broader software-sector momentum provided additional support. Paylocity was listed among software companies trading higher, suggesting investor interest in technology stocks and AI-related applications may have contributed to the move. Software stocks trading higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Estimate changes were mixed. Zacks reduced its Q4 2027 EPS forecast to $1.39 from $1.43 and Q2 2028 to $1.57 from $1.58. Its current-year consensus estimate remains $6.86 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was minimal. Director Steven Sarowitz sold 441 shares for $68,355 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.01%, leaving him with nearly 4.47 million shares, making it unlikely to materially affect sentiment. Paylocity director stock sale

About Paylocity

Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) software designed to streamline workforce administration for mid-sized organizations. The company’s integrated platform automates core functions such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor tracking, and compliance management, enabling employers to manage employee data more efficiently and reduce administrative burdens.

In addition to payroll and HR capabilities, Paylocity offers talent management solutions including recruiting, onboarding, performance tracking, and learning management.