Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives $99.36 Average Price Target from Analysts

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.36.

A number of research firms have commented on PEGA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Pegasystems Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $63.30 on Monday. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $54.55 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.67 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.09%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. This trade represents a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,791 shares of company stock worth $6,134,554. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Pegasystems by 150.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 85.6% during 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.