Insider Selling: Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) CFO Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $139,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.75. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kenneth Stillwell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 3rd, Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total transaction of $156,620.00.
• On Friday, February 14th, Kenneth Stillwell sold 7,742 shares of Pegasystems stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total transaction of $655,902.24.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00.

Pegasystems Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of PEGA opened at $63.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.67 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.55 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.59.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. Equities research analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 0.09%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 11.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 19,597 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,875 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pegasystems

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.