SG Americas Securities LLC Takes Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,941 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $761,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 189.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,242 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $220,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,281 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $66,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 398.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 702,838 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,505,000 after acquiring an additional 561,807 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth about $44,343,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,623,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total value of $59,154.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.41, for a total value of $2,154,915.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,184,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,599,443.74. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 137,515 shares of company stock worth $12,374,086. 49.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEGA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $116.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Pegasystems from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.09.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

PEGA stock traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.21. 1,772,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 775,100. Pegasystems Inc. has a one year low of $56.49 and a one year high of $113.67. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.16 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $92.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.49.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a boost from Pegasystems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Pegasystems's payout ratio is 11.65%.

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.