Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $6.51 Million Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 69,797 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,505,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Pegasystems at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company's stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Pegasystems by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEGA. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Pegasystems from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.27.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.4 %

PEGA opened at $91.69 on Monday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.71 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 90.78 and a beta of 1.22.

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 return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is 5.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % 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, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total value of $59,154.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,900. This trade represents a 39.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,949 shares of company stock worth $8,703,263. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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