Analysts Set Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target at $62.50

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.50.

PEGA has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 45,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.22, for a total transaction of $2,619,900.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 45,024,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,621,318,472.08. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Weber sold 2,636 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.98, for a total transaction of $150,199.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $605,811.36. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,607 shares of company stock worth $7,644,274 in the last quarter. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 236.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,037,552 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $217,584,000 after buying an additional 2,836,733 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 1st quarter worth about $151,149,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Pegasystems by 255.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,907,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $157,393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,375 shares during the period. Bares Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Pegasystems by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,542,716 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $191,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,726 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Pegasystems by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,187,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100,733 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $53.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.08. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $29.84 and a 52 week high of $61.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.46 and a 200-day moving average of $50.75.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $384.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.07 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.34%.

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.