Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given New $70.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) had its price target trimmed by DA Davidson from $90.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on PEGA. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $68.94 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.53. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $54.55 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 68.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its 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 net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.65, for a total transaction of $155,006.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,019 shares in the company, valued at $3,935,237.35. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,791 shares of company stock valued at $6,134,554. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pegasystems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Pegasystems by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.