Brokerages Set Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Target Price at $85.90

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.90.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEGA shares. Barclays increased their price target on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $70,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,417.05. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $43,824.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,663 shares of company stock valued at $2,387,862 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 54.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,031 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,362,000 after purchasing an additional 49,433 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at $325,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Pegasystems by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,895,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Pegasystems by 40.9% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 17,198 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at $4,503,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $94.51 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.74. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 68.99 and a beta of 1.06. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $44.07 and a 52 week high of $97.00.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.76%.

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.