State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $2.28 Million Stock Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,449 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,403 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $2,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,567,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 440.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 147,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,770,000 after purchasing an additional 120,090 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,688,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,563 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 85,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,096,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Down 4.4 %

PEGA stock opened at $77.89 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.55 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.16 and its 200-day moving average is $84.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 77.12 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 11.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.36.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total transaction of $28,973.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 7,742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $655,902.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,559.52. The trade was a 34.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,745 shares of company stock valued at $2,001,989. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.