Paylocity Holding Corp. (PCTY)

Paylocity's stock price has experienced a significant decline over the past year, falling by 41.67% as of March 17, 2026, compared to March 18, 2025. More recently, the stock declined by 7.2% on February 6, 2026, the day following its Q2 FY2026 earnings announcement on February 5, 2026. Since that earnings release, the stock has drifted an additional 10.6% lower. This downturn has occurred amidst broader software sector weakness, partly attributed to fears of AI disruption impacting traditional SaaS models. Analysts have also cut price targets for PCTY following its February results. Despite beating profit expectations and raising fiscal 2026 revenue guidance in Q2 FY2026, the stock's performance has been impacted by these sector-wide concerns and moderating growth guidance.

Based on historical data, Paylocity Holding Corporation's stock exhibits some demand seasonality. August has historically been the strongest month for the company, with an average return of 9.27% and a 75% win rate. Conversely, December tends to be the weakest month, averaging a -3.15% return. The overall seasonal pattern for Paylocity has a consistency score of 52 (Fair), based on 13 years of data, with 9 out of 12 months typically showing positive average returns.

Paylocity Holding Corp. is an American provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM), payroll, and spend management software solutions, operating within the Technology sector, specifically in the Packaged Software and SaaS industries. Paylocity's platform offers integrated tools to manage the entire employee lifecycle, primarily serving small to mid-sized businesses with 50 to 1,000 employees. Its major products and services include payroll solutions, HR solutions, time & labor management, talent management, benefits solutions, employee experience, and finance solutions.

Paylocity Holding Corp. primarily serves clients across the United States, with its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. The company's services are provided in a SaaS delivery model utilizing its cloud-based platform. While its primary market is the U.S., the inclusion of "global payroll" as a product suggests a broader, albeit perhaps less emphasized, international reach.

Paylocity has maintained a strong brand reputation over the past year, receiving several notable recognitions. In 2024, the company was featured on Forbes' Best Large Company list and Newsweek's Best Workplaces for Diversity list. Paylocity is also prominently recognized in multiple G2 Quarterly Grid® Reports, leading in 10 Human Capital Management (HCM) product categories. Industry analysts, such as NelsonHall, have acknowledged Paylocity as a leader in its field. There is no information indicating any significant negative events that have affected Paylocity's brand reputation in the past year.

Paylocity Holding Corp. has a diverse ownership structure, with institutional investors holding approximately 61.84% of the company's stock, insiders owning around 20.13%, and public companies and individual investors holding about 18.03%. Major institutional owners include BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc, T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc., Citadel Advisors Llc, State Street Corp, Point72 Asset Management, L.P., Geode Capital Management, Llc, Aqr Capital Management Llc, Millennium Management Llc and Invesco Ltd. The largest individual shareholder is Steven I. Sarowitz, the company's founder, who owns 8.50 million shares, representing 15.79% of the company.