NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Buys New Stake in Pegasystems Inc. $PEGA

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC has taken a new position by purchasing 5,666 shares of Pegasystems Inc. for approximately $306,000 in the 2nd quarter, according to their recent SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Pegasystems, with 46.89% of the stock currently owned by these investors and hedge funds.
• Pegasystems is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,666 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,756 shares of the technology company's stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,240 shares of the technology company's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,995 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at $1,843,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 132,070 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,309,000 after purchasing an additional 21,535 shares during the period. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth about $668,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total transaction of $2,587,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 32,961,692 shares in the company, valued at $1,894,967,673.08. This represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Weber sold 2,636 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.98, for a total value of $150,199.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $605,811.36. The trade was a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 181,607 shares of company stock valued at $10,255,134. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of Pegasystems stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.98. 941,471 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,325. The company has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.49 and a beta of 1.08. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.84 and a 52 week high of $60.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.01.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company had revenue of $384.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEGA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.83.

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.