Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) CAO Sells $28,973.10 in Stock

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total transaction of $28,973.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Efstathios A. Kouninis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 5th, Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of Pegasystems stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $43,824.00.
• On Friday, October 25th, Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 303 shares of Pegasystems stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $24,543.00.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $94.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.34. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $44.07 and a one year high of $97.94. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.71 and a beta of 1.09.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The business had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 49,433 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $325,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,895,000 after buying an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 17,198 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pegasystems in the third quarter worth $4,503,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.