Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.36.

PEGA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 2,049 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.65, for a total value of $155,006.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,019 shares in the company, valued at $3,935,237.35. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,791 shares of company stock valued at $6,134,554 in the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 322,424 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $23,566,000 after acquiring an additional 11,102 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 149.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,056 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,806 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,749 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Pegasystems by 11.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,555 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Pegasystems by 0.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 110,535 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,079,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of Pegasystems stock traded down $3.93 on Monday, hitting $68.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,016,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,958. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems has a 1 year low of $54.55 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.62.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's payout ratio is currently 11.88%.

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.