Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,467 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $2,234,295.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,247,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,373,261.02. The trade was a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total transaction of $188,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,547,804. This trade represents a 10.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,543 shares of company stock valued at $6,253,614. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. Pegasystems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.55 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.66. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 75.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.08%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 11.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems 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.