Raymond James & Associates Cuts Stock Position in Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,170 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Progress Software were worth $2,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRGS. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Progress Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Progress Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Progress Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Progress Software by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Progress Software by 353.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 992 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter.

Progress Software Stock Performance

PRGS opened at $50.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.78. Progress Software Co. has a 1 year low of $49.02 and a 1 year high of $62.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.94.

Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The software maker reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Progress Software had a net margin of 9.67% and a return on equity of 36.62%. The firm had revenue of $184.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Progress Software Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Progress Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Progress Software’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Progress Software in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Progress Software in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progress Software from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progress Software presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.60.

Insider Activity at Progress Software

In related news, CFO Anthony Folger sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $430,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,810.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Progress Software news, Director Charles Francis Kane sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.37, for a total transaction of $286,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,110 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,250.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony Folger sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $430,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,126,810.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,248 shares of company stock worth $4,612,902 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Progress Software Profile

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.