Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Trading Down 4.1% – Here’s Why

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) shares traded down 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $107.71 and last traded at $107.63. 157,253 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 822,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.82.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.80.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $43,824.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $71,139.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,531 shares of company stock worth $1,178,650 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 266.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,641,000 after purchasing an additional 284,095 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the third quarter worth approximately $9,567,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 440.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 147,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,770,000 after purchasing an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,688,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,563 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 85,505 shares during the last quarter. 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.