Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $43.65 Million Stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 468,393 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 119,439 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $43,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 24,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,141 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after buying an additional 19,551 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 137,966 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,858,000 after buying an additional 45,233 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Trading Down 4.4 %

PEGA stock opened at $77.89 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 77.12 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.55 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. On average, analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is 11.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PEGA. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $71,139.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total value of $28,973.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,745 shares of company stock valued at $2,001,989 in the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.