Hodges Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 61,605 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,503,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Pegasystems as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the technology company's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 5.4% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,099 shares of the technology company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Pegasystems by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,744 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEGA traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.28. The company had a trading volume of 356,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,873. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.07 and a 1-year high of $97.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 71.01 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.24.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,763,936. This represents a 1.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 5,792 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $458,436.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,377,210. This trade represents a 24.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,415 shares of company stock worth $1,667,761 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

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.