Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.18.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson raised shares of Pegasystems to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 598 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.00, for a total transaction of $61,594.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,098. The trade was a 78.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 11,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.23, for a total transaction of $1,209,380.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,943,698.99. This trade represents a 38.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,015 shares of company stock valued at $9,191,326 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Pegasystems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,054,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 55.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,476 shares of the technology company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter worth approximately $250,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 18.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 155,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,713 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Pegasystems by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 248,168 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,253,000 after buying an additional 13,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.6%

PEGA traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $100.67. 740,636 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,850. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $55.90 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.87 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.36.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

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

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.