Eastern Bank Purchases New Stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Pegasystems by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,369,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,067,000 after purchasing an additional 250,273 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,968,000. Luxor Capital Group LP boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 683,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,399,000 after acquiring an additional 49,861 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pegasystems by 104.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,381,000 after acquiring an additional 283,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 6.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 533,948 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,304,000 after purchasing an additional 34,416 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Up 14.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $79.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 55.15 and a beta of 1.07. Pegasystems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.66 and a fifty-two week high of $80.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.01.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PEGA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair raised Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.60.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total transaction of $73,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,060.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $54,211.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,412 shares in the company, valued at $2,769,121.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total transaction of $73,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,060.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,955 shares of company stock worth $3,136,247. Insiders own 50.10% 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.