Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Earns Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the technology company's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.36.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEGA traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $85.02. 2,028,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,577. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.06 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.07. Pegasystems has a 1-year low of $54.55 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total value of $28,973.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,003 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,086 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 227.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 250,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,390,000 after acquiring an additional 174,400 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,533 shares of the technology company's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 190.1% during the 4th quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 137,485 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,814,000 after acquiring an additional 90,094 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% 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.