Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires New Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,349 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 29.9% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ PEGA traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 356,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,873. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.01 and a beta of 1.09. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.07 and a 52-week high of $97.94. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $82.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.18.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. The trade was a 2.00 % 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $189,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,840. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,415 shares of company stock valued at $1,667,761. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

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.