Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $120.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.09.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of PEGA opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $55.90 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.69. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.41, for a total value of $2,154,915.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 17,184,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,599,443.74. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.90, for a total transaction of $59,154.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,087 shares of company stock worth $10,299,146. 49.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 139.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 50.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.