Northern Trust Corp Buys 35,428 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 258,974 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,428 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.30% of Pegasystems worth $24,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,629 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter valued at $6,505,000. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter valued at $13,561,000. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at $448,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 141,481 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,186,000 after acquiring an additional 20,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $46,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,750. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $185,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,670.35. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,520 shares of company stock worth $9,752,250 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 49.70% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $98.97. The stock had a trading volume of 500,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,756. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.71 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $77.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.49. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.99 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PEGA. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Pegasystems from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.27.

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.