Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $384.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $345.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Pegasystems Stock Up 1.3%

PEGA traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.83. 2,315,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,029,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 50.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50-day moving average is $51.29 and its 200 day moving average is $45.68. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $29.84 and a 52 week high of $59.85.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.03 dividend. This is a boost from Pegasystems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. Pegasystems's payout ratio is presently 10.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEGA. Loop Capital raised their price target on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.91.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 1,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $61,594.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,098. This represents a 78.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Larry Weber sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $100,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $599,377.85. This represents a 14.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,788 shares of company stock valued at $13,870,048 over the last quarter. 49.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Pegasystems by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,476 shares of the technology company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 155,783 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,830,000 after buying an additional 23,713 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 450.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,844 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 141,900.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 4,257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

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.