Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $76.86 on Tuesday. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $54.55 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 76.10 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.11.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 11.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,339,353,860.68. This trade represents a 0.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,542 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,746. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Company Profile

Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients’ processes and workflows.