Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $74.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush increased their target price on Pegasystems from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Pegasystems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Pegasystems Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PEGA opened at $60.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.02. Pegasystems has a 12-month low of $29.84 and a 12-month high of $68.10. The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.12. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 43.49% and a net margin of 16.05%.The company had revenue of $381.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 14,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $942,441.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,531,856.60. This trade represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 17,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $1,140,154.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,487,646.40. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,328 shares of company stock valued at $11,542,067. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter worth $28,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Pegasystems by 274.2% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 321.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 124.5% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 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.