Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,394 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 150.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $68.14 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.47 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.55 and a 52-week high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PEGA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $2,437,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at $1,339,353,860.68. This represents a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,842 shares of company stock worth $6,282,587 over the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pegasystems 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.