D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 64.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,091 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 160,161 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $8,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Pegasystems by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 19,597 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,875 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Pegasystems by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Pegasystems stock opened at $98.72 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $55.71 and a one year high of $113.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.49. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.74 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.83%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,339,353,860.68. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $185,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,670.35. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,520 shares of company stock valued at $9,752,250 in the last 90 days. 49.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEGA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.27.

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.