VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Pegasystems Inc. $PEGA

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 59,050 Pegasystems shares worth approximately $1.77 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 46.89% of the company.
• Pegasystems reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, below the $0.43 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $420.72 million but also missed estimates.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.10; shares recently traded at $36.24, up 1.5%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in 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 institutional investor purchased 59,050 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,770,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 302.2% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 929 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Trading Up 1.5%

PEGA opened at $36.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.08. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.10 and a 1 year high of $68.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.89.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.08). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 18.66%.The firm had revenue of $420.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $427.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEGA. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $35.00 price target on Pegasystems and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. William Blair cut Pegasystems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson set a $32.00 target price on Pegasystems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.10.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, insider Kerim Akgonul sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.99, for a total value of $101,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,672,585.51. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 1,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $41,191.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,105. This trade represents a 47.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,813 shares of company stock worth $167,394. Insiders own 48.40% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Profile

Pegasystems Inc develops enterprise software for customer engagement, workflow automation and business process management. Its solutions help organizations manage customer service, sales, marketing, operations and back-office processes across digital and traditional channels.

The company's product portfolio includes Pega Platform, a low-code application development and automation platform; Pega Customer Service and Pega Sales; Pega Customer Decision Hub for real-time, personalized customer engagement; and tools for case management, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence.

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