Brokerages Set Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target at $93.91

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.91.

Several research firms have recently commented on PEGA. Barclays lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 5,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $458,436.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,210. This represents a 24.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $43,824.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Pegasystems by 2.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 52,022 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 82.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,841 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after buying an additional 26,959 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 29.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Pegasystems by 266.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,641,000 after purchasing an additional 284,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 107,824 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,527,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $103.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 75.39 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.03. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $45.95 and a 52 week high of $105.34.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.76%.

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.