Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,118,964 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,848 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Pegasystems worth $250,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth about $539,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 707.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 64,673 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,807,000 after buying an additional 56,664 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 3.2% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 67,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 307.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 180,770 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,847,000 after acquiring an additional 136,444 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $608,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 369,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,504,779.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,752 shares of company stock valued at $834,956. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.50.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA opened at $60.53 on Monday. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $37.66 and a one year high of $69.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Pegasystems had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 45.00%. The business had revenue of $330.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.70 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

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.