Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

PEGA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities raised Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.90.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEGA traded down $2.20 on Tuesday, reaching $86.25. 64,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,749. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.78 and its 200-day moving average is $66.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 63.64 and a beta of 1.06. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $44.07 and a fifty-two week high of $91.54.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.76%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $70,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,417.05. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $53,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142. This trade represents a 99.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,093 shares of company stock worth $3,042,389 over the last ninety days. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 4.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 12,219 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 5,974 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth $27,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter worth $273,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 55,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 16,571 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.