KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $1.17 Million Investment in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,500 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,895,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,542,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 637,999 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,462,000 after buying an additional 153,703 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 468,393 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,654,000 after buying an additional 119,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 323,735 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,172,000 after acquiring an additional 36,379 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $144,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,534 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,581.50. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 7,742 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $655,902.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,559.52. This trade represents a 34.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,791 shares of company stock valued at $5,995,054. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ PEGA traded down $4.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.35. The stock had a trading volume of 120,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,745. The firm's 50 day moving average is $85.29 and its 200 day moving average is $85.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.65 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.55 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.09%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEGA has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Pegasystems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Pegasystems 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.