Martingale Asset Management L P Raises Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 54.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,344 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,191 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.10% of Pegasystems worth $7,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 189.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,242 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,347,000 after buying an additional 1,546,281 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 398.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 702,838 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,505,000 after purchasing an additional 561,807 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,623,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of PEGA traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 186,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,070. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $54.55 and a one year high of $113.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.41 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.53.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. On average, research analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PEGA. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. The trade was a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,791 shares of company stock worth $6,134,554 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.