Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.56.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEGA shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $1,301,681.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,549,875.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.39, for a total value of $633,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 379,658 shares in the company, valued at $24,066,520.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $1,301,681.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,549,875.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,792 shares of company stock worth $2,781,669 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 50.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 6.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,004,116 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $217,229,000 after acquiring an additional 310,242 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 946,109 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,227,000 after acquiring an additional 31,925 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 318,002 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,804,000 after acquiring an additional 10,653 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,104,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA stock traded down $1.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $58.46. The company had a trading volume of 280,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,031. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.34 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.85 and a 200 day moving average of $52.26. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $37.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $474.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.76 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 39.30%. As a group, research analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is 16.90%.

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.