Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $106.31 and last traded at $105.44, with a volume of 85917 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEGA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.91.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.68.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $80,070.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,818.33. This trade represents a 2.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total value of $188,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,547,804. The trade was a 10.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.