Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Takes Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,959 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,968,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 284,095 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 283,508 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Pegasystems by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,369,237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $347,067,000 after acquiring an additional 250,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Pegasystems by 77.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 499,532 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,273,000 after purchasing an additional 218,599 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PEGA shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities raised Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $53,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $53,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 932 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $66,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,565 shares of company stock valued at $2,998,565. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEGA traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.70. 643,545 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,383. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.36. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 62.28 and a beta of 1.06. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.00 and a twelve month high of $87.19.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.76%.

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.