Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,566 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth about $66,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 398.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 702,838 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,505,000 after purchasing an additional 561,807 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,623,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 637,999 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,462,000 after purchasing an additional 153,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $63.19 on Tuesday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.55 and a 1-year high of $113.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.83. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 62.56 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.09%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $139,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.75. The trade was a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at $1,339,353,860.68. This trade represents a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,791 shares of company stock worth $6,134,554. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PEGA. StockNews.com cut Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Pegasystems Company 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.