Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 80.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 840 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,469 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pegasystems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% during 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 period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PEGA traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 828,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,392. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $85.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.89. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.90 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.45 and a beta of 1.11.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's payout ratio is presently 5.83%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $2,234,295.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 17,247,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,373,261.02. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.25, for a total transaction of $49,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,087 shares of company stock valued at $10,299,146. 49.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEGA. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Pegasystems from $116.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.18.

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.