Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $78.54 and last traded at $76.93, with a volume of 29718 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Monday, July 29th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.60.

Pegasystems Trading Up 14.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.15 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.01.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 49.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total value of $73,170.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,263,060.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 15,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,057,516.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 371,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,746,249.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total transaction of $73,170.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,263,060.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,955 shares of company stock valued at $3,136,247 in the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $604,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.