Marshall Wace LLP Purchases Shares of 55,136 Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,136 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,139,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.06% of Pegasystems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total value of $59,154.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,900. The trade was a 39.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 17,713 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.36, for a total value of $1,582,833.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,920,793.20. This represents a 45.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,386,802 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PEGA stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $92.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,066,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,954. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.88 and a 200-day moving average of $85.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.17 and a beta of 1.22. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.71 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. On average, equities analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.27.

About Pegasystems

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.