Totem Point Management LLC Lowers Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Totem Point Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,252 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,751 shares during the period. Pegasystems accounts for about 4.0% of Totem Point Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Totem Point Management LLC's holdings in Pegasystems were worth $3,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 189.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,242 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $220,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,281 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter valued at $66,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 398.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 702,838 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,505,000 after acquiring an additional 561,807 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth $44,343,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth $27,623,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total transaction of $59,154.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $89,900. This trade represents a 39.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,949 shares of company stock valued at $8,703,263 over the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pegasystems Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of PEGA traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $90.42. 392,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 689,297. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.53 and a beta of 1.22. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.71 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.77.

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

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.07%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $119.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.