Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,024 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 14,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.11% of Pegasystems worth $8,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $467,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,895,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 54.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,031 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,362,000 after purchasing an additional 49,433 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Pegasystems by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 88,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,353,000 after buying an additional 7,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA stock opened at $68.34 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.27. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.55 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 67.66 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEGA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.27.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In related news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. This trade represents a 0.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $139,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,481,838.75. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,791 shares of company stock worth $6,134,554 over the last ninety days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pegasystems 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.

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