Loop Capital Lowers Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target to $85.00

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Loop Capital from $115.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.27.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $68.34. The company had a trading volume of 671,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.66 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.35. Pegasystems has a 52-week low of $54.55 and a 52-week high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's payout ratio is 11.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 2,049 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,935,237.35. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $2,437,470.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. This represents a 0.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,791 shares of company stock valued at $6,134,554 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 19,597 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,875 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,394 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by 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.