Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.50 and last traded at $82.28, with a volume of 17182 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEGA. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities raised shares of Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.90.

Pegasystems Stock Up 4.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.66 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.91 and its 200 day moving average is $65.17.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 8,288 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.23, for a total value of $673,234.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,172.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 8,288 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.23, for a total value of $673,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,057,172.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total transaction of $203,933.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,229,207.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,565 shares of company stock worth $2,998,565. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 64.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 869 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

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.