Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $109.95 and last traded at $108.41, with a volume of 227696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.82.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $97.77 and its 200-day moving average is $81.13. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 79.04 and a beta of 1.09.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.83, for a total value of $70,560.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,006.59. This trade represents a 1.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 6,200 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.67, for a total transaction of $586,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,748,176.22. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,531 shares of company stock worth $1,178,650. Insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.