Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,525 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,892 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.07% of Pegasystems worth $2,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the first quarter worth $1,054,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Pegasystems by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,059,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 55.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the first quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Trading Down 0.9 %

Pegasystems stock opened at $58.40 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.66 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.25 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.46.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.64. Pegasystems had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 39.30%. The company had revenue of $474.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.76 million. Analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PEGA shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Pegasystems from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total transaction of $1,301,681.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,549,875.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 395 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.75, for a total value of $25,576.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total transaction of $1,301,681.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,549,875.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,792 shares of company stock valued at $2,781,669. 50.20% of the stock is 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.