Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $106.31 and last traded at $105.44, with a volume of 85917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted 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. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pegasystems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.91.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.22 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.34.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. Pegasystems's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems's payout ratio is 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total value of $28,973.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.83, for a total transaction of $70,560.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,006.59. The trade was a 1.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 5.4% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,099 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the technology company's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pegasystems

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.