Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. $PEGA

Key Points

• Wilson Asset Management International boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 225.0% in Q4 to 65,000 shares, now worth $3.882 million and making the stock about 1.0% of the fund's holdings (its 28th largest position).
• Pegasystems recently missed quarterly expectations (EPS $0.46 vs. $0.68 expected; revenue $430M vs. $473M) while the stock trades near $36.95 (50‑day MA $41.95, 200‑day MA $50.43); analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $63.70 target.
• Insiders sold 52,594 shares (~$2.34M) in the last quarter, including large sales by the CFO, even though insiders still own about 48.4% of the company and institutional ownership is roughly 46.9%.

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. increased its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 225.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,000 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Pegasystems accounts for about 1.0% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEGA. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 321.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 96.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 617 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 704 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp set a $60.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 7,594 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.39, for a total transaction of $329,503.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 111,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,834,904.31. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 44,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.81, for a total transaction of $1,971,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,889,801.63. The trade was a 28.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,594 shares of company stock worth $2,344,024. 48.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.4%

PEGA opened at $36.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.43. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.88. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.33 and a 52 week high of $68.10.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $429.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $473.24 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 20.04% and a return on equity of 30.05%. The firm's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.45%.

Pegasystems Profile

Pegasystems Inc is a software company specializing in customer engagement and digital process automation solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Pegasystems develops enterprise applications designed to help organizations streamline operations, manage customer interactions and automate complex workflows. Its platform supports a wide range of use cases, from sales and marketing optimization to case management and robotic process automation.

The core of Pegasystems' offering is the Pega Platform, a low-code development environment that enables businesses to build and deploy applications with minimal hand-coding.

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