Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 54.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,031 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,433 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Pegasystems worth $10,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the second quarter valued at about $67,968,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Pegasystems by 266.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,641,000 after purchasing an additional 284,095 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pegasystems by 104.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,381,000 after purchasing an additional 283,508 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter worth $9,567,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the second quarter worth $7,599,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.24. 726,998 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,610. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $87.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.81. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.07 and a 1-year high of $97.94. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.52 and a beta of 1.09.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $325.10 million during 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%. Pegasystems's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.13%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEGA has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush upped their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $54,144.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,763,936. This trade represents a 1.92 % decrease in their position. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $43,824.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,914 shares of company stock valued at $2,283,688. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.