Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $109.95 and last traded at $108.41, with a volume of 227696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $108.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEGA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.91.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.73.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total transaction of $28,973.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 8,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.23, for a total transaction of $673,234.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,172.28. The trade was a 18.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,819 shares of company stock valued at $1,851,885 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter worth about $267,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 298.6% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,540 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 19,132 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 43,995 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,100,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 8,284 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.