Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given “Buy” Rating at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reiterated their buy rating on shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $75.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a neutral rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.00.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Pegasystems stock opened at $59.30 on Tuesday. Pegasystems has a 1 year low of $37.66 and a 1 year high of $69.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.90. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $474.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.76 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 39.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 16.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $1,301,681.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,549,875.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $48,278.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 20,606 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $1,301,681.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,549,875.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,792 shares of company stock valued at $2,781,669. 50.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 80.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 219.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Pegasystems by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.