Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 217,662 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 302,343 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $20,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Down 1.2 %

Pegasystems stock opened at $62.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.85 and a 200-day moving average of $85.63. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.55 and a 52-week high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.81 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. On average, research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.10%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 11.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $2,234,295.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,247,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,373,261.02. This trade represents a 0.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $139,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,481,838.75. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,791 shares of company stock valued at $6,134,554. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

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.