Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Down 2.8%

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) shares fell 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $58.93 and last traded at $58.93. 133,769 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 482,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEGA. Citigroup upped their target price on Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet upgraded Pegasystems from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.33.

Pegasystems Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 73.95 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.74.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Pegasystems had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 45.00%. The company had revenue of $330.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.70 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total transaction of $120,780.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,381,964.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $120,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,381,964.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $48,278.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,504 shares of company stock worth $1,083,494 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 2,166.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after buying an additional 23,504 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter valued at about $423,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 309.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 130,281 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,422,000 after buying an additional 98,465 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 770.5% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 61,702 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 54,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter valued at about $209,000. 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.