Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp reiterated 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 boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $76.86 on Tuesday. Pegasystems has a one year low of $54.55 and a one year high of $113.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.11. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 76.10 and a beta of 1.11.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 expect that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 11.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. This represents a 0.18 % 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, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.83, for a total value of $70,560.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,006.59. This trade represents a 1.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,542 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,746. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

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.