D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 160,161 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 64.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,091 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 160,161 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Pegasystems worth $8,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEGA. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 150.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Pegasystems by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Pegasystems by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEGA traded down $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $98.44. The company had a trading volume of 374,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,817. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 97.47 and a beta of 1.14. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.71 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.28 and its 200 day moving average is $87.71.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $89,900. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 128,520 shares of company stock worth $9,752,250 in the last three months. 49.70% 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.