AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 749,868 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,865 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.87% of Pegasystems worth $69,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEGA. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Pegasystems by 54.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,031 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,362,000 after purchasing an additional 49,433 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Pegasystems by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 88,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,353,000 after acquiring an additional 7,947 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pegasystems by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 8,284 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.5 %

PEGA traded up $0.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.66. 456,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 694,050. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.71 and a 1-year high of $113.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.04 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.83%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 17,713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.36, for a total transaction of $1,582,833.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,920,793.20. This represents a 45.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $2,437,470.00. Following 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 quarter, insiders sold 133,762 shares of company stock worth $10,175,542. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.27.

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.