Brokerages Set Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target at $62.11

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.44.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th.

Pegasystems Trading Down 0.8 %

PEGA opened at $65.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $37.66 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.69 and a beta of 1.06.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The technology company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.64. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 39.30% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $474.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.76 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.39, for a total transaction of $633,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 379,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,066,520.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 24,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,549,875.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 379,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,066,520.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,040 shares of company stock valued at $2,605,991 in the last three months. 50.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,862,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $286,434,000 after purchasing an additional 90,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,118,964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $250,113,000 after buying an additional 114,848 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Pegasystems by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,221,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,130,000 after acquiring an additional 278,133 shares during the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP now owns 3,487,351 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $171,926,000 after acquiring an additional 458,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 3.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.