Raymond James & Associates Purchases 44,035 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 166.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,432 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 44,035 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.08% of Pegasystems worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,369,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,067,000 after purchasing an additional 250,273 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,968,000. Luxor Capital Group LP raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 683,939 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,399,000 after purchasing an additional 49,861 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 104.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,381,000 after purchasing an additional 283,508 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 533,948 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,304,000 after purchasing an additional 34,416 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Pegasystems stock opened at $81.35 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.00 and a 52 week high of $82.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.38 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.92.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.88, for a total transaction of $698,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 357,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,951,213.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Pegasystems news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total value of $70,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,417.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.88, for a total transaction of $698,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 357,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,951,213.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,277 shares of company stock worth $2,325,331 over the last three months. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PEGA shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JMP Securities raised Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.90.

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.