Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,663 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 448.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $71.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.52 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.55 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.49.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEGA shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.83, for a total transaction of $70,560.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,006.59. This trade represents a 1.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $2,437,470.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,308,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,353,860.68. The trade was a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,543 shares of company stock worth $6,253,614. 50.10% of the stock is 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.