Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.64.

Several research firms have recently commented on PEGA. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,489,226.40. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,003 shares of company stock worth $1,346,086. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,992 shares of the technology company's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 47.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,306 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,638,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $229,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ PEGA traded up $2.78 on Friday, reaching $106.09. 1,529,835 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,959. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 77.44 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $47.82 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.57.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. 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.