MRA Advisory Group Purchases New Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,717 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,546,281 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $44,343,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $27,623,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $144,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,581.50. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $2,234,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 17,247,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,373,261.02. The trade was a 0.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,087 shares of company stock worth $10,299,146 over the last quarter. Insiders own 49.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEGA shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $119.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.00.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.4%

Pegasystems stock opened at $101.84 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.90 and a 1-year high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.83 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.89.

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 issued a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.06%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.83%.

Pegasystems 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.

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