Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 91.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,908 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 43,590 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Pegasystems were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEGA. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,080 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth about $2,838,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,429 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 116,308 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,840,000 after acquiring an additional 68,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 825,762 shares of the technology company's stock worth $76,983,000 after acquiring an additional 6,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total transaction of $59,154.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,900. This represents a 39.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,949 shares of company stock valued at $8,703,263 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of Pegasystems stock traded down $0.58 on Monday, reaching $91.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,059,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,831. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.89. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 90.21 and a beta of 1.22. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.71 and a 52-week high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEGA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.27.

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.