Raymond James & Associates Purchases 44,035 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 166.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,432 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,035 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.08% of Pegasystems worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $571,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $2,638,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 47.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,306 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the second quarter valued at about $378,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Loop Capital raised shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $70,410.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,417.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 5,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $458,436.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,210. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $70,410.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,417.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,277 shares of company stock worth $2,325,331 over the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.35. 494,335 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 583,021. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $44.00 and a one year high of $82.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.97. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 59.38 and a beta of 1.05.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems's payout ratio is 8.76%.

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.