Kestra Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,230 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $67,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.67, for a total value of $586,954.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,466 shares in the company, valued at $1,748,176.22. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,003 shares of company stock worth $1,346,086 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $85.02 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 62.06 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.55 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. Equities research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.76%.

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.