Insider Selling: Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) CAO Sells 332 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Pegasystems CAO Efstathios Kouninis sold 332 shares at an average price of $57.62, representing a 56.85% decrease in his ownership.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.02 to $0.03, reflecting a 0.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 10.34%.
• Pegasystems' stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with an average target price of $61.83.

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) CAO Efstathios Kouninis sold 332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $19,129.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,520.24. The trade was a 56.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ PEGA traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 942,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,187. Pegasystems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.84 and a fifty-two week high of $60.96. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $53.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.64.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The firm had revenue of $384.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Pegasystems's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. This is a boost from Pegasystems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEGA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 139.7% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 124.5% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 696 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Pegasystems by 159.8% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 730 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

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.

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